King Salman Cup for Arab Clubs 2023 semi finals .. Al-Shorta faces Al-Nassr.. Al-Hilal faces Al-Shabab tomorrow, Wednesday
The semi-finals of King Salman Cup for Arab Clubs 2023 will be held, as the Iraqi team Al-Shorta will face the Saudi team Al-Nassr, then the Saudi teams Al-Hilal and the Al-Shabab will play, tomorrow evening, Wednesday.
At Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City stadium in Abha, Al-Shorta will face Al-Nassr, at 6 pm in KSA time.
Al-Shorta qualified for the semi-finals, after defeating the Qatari team Al-Sadd 4-2 in the quarter-finals, to face Al-Nassr, which defeated the Moroccan team Raja 3-1.
At King Fahd Sports City Stadium in Taif, Al-Hilal will face Al-Shabab at 9 pm in KSA time.
Al-Hilal defeated the Saudi team Al-Ittihad, 3-1, while Al-Shabab beat the Emirati team, Al-Wahda, by penalty kicks, after a goalless draw, in the quarter-finals.
Coaches press conferences
On Tuesday, press conferences were held for the coaches Al-Shorta, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab, to talk about the latest preparations for tomorrow’s matches in the semi finals.
For his part, Ahmed Salah, Al-Shorta coach, stressed the importance of the match, pointing out that: “It is an important match for us, because the opponent has players at the highest level, whether local or foreign”.
He added: “Al-Nassr players have a high technical value. We will play against them with great caution, because it is an important match, and losing it means leaving and there is no room for compensation”.
Karrar Amer, Al-Shorta player, said: “It will be a strong match, but we have a great motivation against the elite of world football stars, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and others”.
On the other hand, Luis Castro, coach of Al-Nassr, expressed his great happiness at reaching the semi finals of the tournament, pointing out that the journey was very difficult and complicated, noting that a number of his players are suffering from stress during the current time.
He concluded: “Despite all the difficulties, the team’s effort was crowned with success, and a difficult match awaits us against Al-Shorta, which defeated the Qatari team Al-Sadd, which was one of the candidates for the title”.
For his part, Abdullah Mado, Al-Nassr player, confirmed his team’s readiness to play the match and book the qualification card for the semi finals, stressing his desire to make the fans happy and always live up to expectations.
Marcel Kaiser, coach of Al-Shabab, said: “It will be an exciting match in the semi-finals. All teams presented strong levels in order to reach that stage. It will be a wonderful adventure. Today we have a training session and we will be ready to play the match”.
He added: “Al-Hilal is a good team, and has an advantage over Al-Shabab after having a more rest day than us. Al-Shabab has good full backs, and the same is the case for Al-Hilal, and the team that will possess the ball more will be the closest to winning”.
He concluded: “The defensive system in Al-Shabab is very impressive, but it depends on all players, not just the back line. In the last matches, we did not play with a center forward. We do not suffer from any absence in tomorrow’s match except for Iago Santos, and his replacement will be determined after the end of today’s training. I know that Al-Hilal is a big and strong team and has great foreigners, but in the end I look at my players, and my goal is to be fully prepared”.
Ahmed Abdo, Al-Shabab player, said: “It will be a difficult match against a team that knows us and we know it well”.
He concluded: “We are suffering from an offensive crisis. It is true that we scored only two goals from two penalties during 4 matches, but in the end things are good, and do not forget that Al-Shabab is also characterized by defensive solidity, and it is certain that we will solve this crisis in the coming period”.
Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus said: “We know Al-Shabab well, and it is a strong competitor, and we are fully prepared to play the match, in search of a pass to the final match. For our part, we are not thinking of anything other than reaching the final, and are fully prepared for any possible scenario”.
He added: “The semi-final reflects the progress of Saudi football during the recent period, as evidenced by the arrival of 3 Saudi teams out of 4 to the semi finals”.
He concluded: “We will stand on the final formation immediately after the end of today’s training session. We may make some minor adjustments compared to the formation of Al-Ittihad match in the last stage. Al-Hilal team used to reach the final matches in recent years. We have sufficient experience to deal with the most difficult situations”.
For his part, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Al-Hilal player, said: “We will present a match worthy of the size of Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab teams. We will face a difficult and strong competitor. We are now in the semi-finals and all our goal is to win the title, and we are very proud to face Al-Shabab. It is a strong derby match”.
On the other hand, yesterday evening, Monday, tickets for the two semi-final matches were released, through the official account of the Union of Arab Football Associations on “Twitter”, and they have completely sold out.
