Qatar- Al Sadd enter bio-bubble ahead of kick-off Goa welcomes Al Rayyan

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) The Peninsula Qatar football giants and former champions Al Sadd yesterday entered a biosecure bubble at the Burj Al Rafal hotel in Riyadh after arriving at the Saudi capital ahead of their AFC Champions League (ACL) campaign. The QNB Stars League winners have been placed in Group D of the Asian competition, alongside hosts Al Nassr, Jordanian side Al Wehdat and Foolad Khouzestan FC of Iran. The Al Sadd delegation consists of 24 players, in addition to technical staff and team officials led by the club's general manager Turki Al Ali. The 2011 winners of the ACL title, Al Sadd have a number of top guns in their arsenal including Qatari stars Saad Al Dossari, Meshaal Barsham, Pedro Miguel, Hassan Al Haydos, Khoukhi Boualem, Rodrigo Tabata and Abdelkarim Hassan as well as South Korean star Nam Tae-hee, Brazilian Guilherme Torres, Algerian international Baghdad Bounedjah and Spaniard Santi Cazorla. Following their arrival in Riyadh, the players and officials underwent COVID-19 tests, before moving to their rooms, where they will quarantine until the results of their tests are out. The Wolves will be a force to be reckoned with during the continental tournament and are considered as one of the title contenders this season. Al Sadd will begin the campaign against Foolad tomorrow at the King Fahd International Stadium, one of the two venues designated for Group D matches. King Saud University Stadium is the other venue. King Fahd Stadium, also known as Saudi Arabia's national stadium and the biggest ground in the country, was opened in 1987 with a capacity of 67,000 fans. Since then, it has hosted a range of sporting events including the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup as well as ACL finals in 2014 and 2017. The venue is currently the home of Riyadh sides Al Hilal and Al Shabab. King Saud University Stadium is a multi-purpose 25,000 capacity venue, now the home of Al Nassr. Interestingly, Al Sadd have not enjoyed positive results at the two venues in recent years. At the 2019 campaign, Al Sadd lost to Al Nassr at King Fahd International Stadium in the first leg of the quarter-finals, although they did ultimately emerge victorious from the last eight showdowns. In the semi-final second leg at King Saud University Stadium, Al Sadd finished 4-2 winners on the night against Al Hilal, but the damage had already been done in the first leg of the final four clash and the Qataris were eliminated 6-5 on aggregate. Starting tomorrow, an intriguing Group D line-up will see Al Wehdat become the first side from Jordan to ever appear in the competition as the Amman club will go up against the Qatari giants. Based on last year's competition, Al Sadd and Al Nassr have to be considered genuine candidates to go all the way this year, and the meetings between the two, a repeat of 2020's Group D, will thus be of particular significance. Neither side could gain the advantage in their pair of ties in 2020 that resulted in two highly entertaining stalemates. A close-fought battle can be expected once more when these powerhouses clash. Foolad are making just their fourth appearance in the competition but they have faced Al Sadd three times previously, twice in the 2015 group stage when they drew one and lost the other and, most notably, a year earlier when the Qatari side claimed an away goals victory in the Round of 16. Elsewhere, in Goa, India, Al Rayyan contingent also received a warm welcome ahead of their Group E matches yesterday. The Qatari team will join the group which also includes two-time finalists Persepolis from Iran, Al Wahda from the United Arab Emirates as well as the hosts FC Goa. The Laurent Blanc-coached team will face FC Goa at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium tomorrow Al Rayyan return to the AFC Champions League after missing out in 2020 and will be looking to resume a rivalry with Al Wahda that saw the two teams clash in the group phase in 2019. Al Wahda won both of those encounters the second a 4-3 thriller as they went on to advance to the last 16MENAFN13042021000063011010ID1101907055