Yesterday, Friday, the Qatari Al Arabi team won the title of the first edition of the Qatari-UAE Super Cup football championship, after defeating Al Sharjah Club with a clean goal in the match hosted by Al Thumama World Cup Stadium in Doha.
The winning goal was scored for Al-Arabi by Tunisian striker Youssef Msakni in the 58th minute. This competition, in its first edition, comes within the policy of enhancing sports, tourism and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
Its launch was announced in January of this year, on the sidelines of the Asian Cup hosted by Qatar. The Super Shield competition was also announced, which will be held today in the Emirates between the Qatari Al-Duhail and Emirati Al-Ahly teams.
Al-Arabi, the holder of the Emir of Qatar Cup last season in its 51st edition, was able to gift its supporters with the first title this season under the leadership of its coach Younis Ali, who won his second title with the team,
Conduct of the match
The course of the first half was at an average technical level, and the play was limited to the central area with a lack of effectiveness and numerical density in the offensive positions, as Sharjah initiated the first threat after its Brazilian striker Caio Lucas almost benefited from a joint error by Al-Arabi’s defense and goalkeeper Jassim Al-Hail, but the ball passed next to him. Goal in the first minute.
Former Paris Saint-Germain player Rafinha Alcantara did not handle the cross ball, which his teammate Alaa El-Din Hassan prepared for him inside the area in the 35th minute, before Jassim Al-Hail saved Al-Arabi’s goal from an achieved goal following an attempt by Malian striker Moussa Marega, who wasted the opportunity to put His team was in the lead before entering the break, ending the first half in a goalless draw.
In the second half, it was clear that Al-Arabi wanted to get the upper hand and exploit the defensive mistakes of the opponent, as the Tunisian national team striker Youssef Msakni almost gave the lead to Al-Arabi, after the ball reached him from Omar Al-Somah outside the area, and he shot a powerful ball that deflected past goalkeeper Adel Al-Hosni. Minute 51.
Youssef Al-Maskani took advantage of the absence of defensive control when he received a wonderful through ball from his colleague Alaa El-Din Hassan inside the penalty spot, and he continued the ball over goalkeeper Adel Al-Hosani, announcing Al-Arabi’s lead with the first goal in the 58th minute.
Sharjah’s attempts almost resulted in an equalizer with a ball that went to its striker Moussa Marega inside the penalty spot, but Al Arabi goalkeeper Jassim Al Hail blocked it in the 66th minute. Then Al Arabi tried to double its lead in the 76th minute, when Mako Verratti passed a through ball towards Al Souma, who fired an arcing shot. Adel Al Hosani excelled in keeping her away.
A ball from a corner kick caused confusion in Al-Arabi’s penalty area, so substitute Khaled Bawazir passed the ball to Marega, who shot a powerful shot over the goal in the 81st minute.
Then Al-Arabi coach Younis Ali made several changes, bringing in Icelandic Aaron Gunnarsson and Abdullah Marafieh with the aim of securing the defensive positions, five minutes before the end of normal time. In stoppage time, Al-Somah exchanged the ball with Al-Maskani on the left side, before Al-Hosani blocked his shot.
The referee canceled the red card that he showed to Italian Marco Verratti in the fourth minute after ninety, after returning to the video assistant referee technology, so Al-Arabi maintained the score for the remaining minutes, and the final whistle came after that.
A long-awaited title
Al-Arabi achieved this achievement after its last podium finish was nearly 30 years ago, when it was close to winning the AFC Champions League title as it was called (the Asian Club Champions League Championship) after reaching the final of the 1994 edition, before losing to the Thai Farmers Bank team. Thai with a clean goal.
Younis Ali, the coach of the Al Arabi team, expressed his happiness at winning the title of the first edition of the tournament, and the coach confirmed, in a statement after the coronation ceremony, that his players gave a good performance and a great match, during which they made a great effort that led them to win the title.
He pointed out that the Sharjah team performed well, and its players wasted many opportunities that could have changed the course of the match, but the brilliance of the defense and goalkeeper Jassem Al Hail contributed to maintaining the result and winning the title.
