Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez spoke to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 9 match against Al Arabi.

“We did not stop working during the break in the league and we played in the Ooredoo Cup and made great efforts to return to the competitions in the same strong image that we were in before the break. We are waiting for the league to resume until we know the extent of our ability to achieve this goal.

“Al Arabi are a strong team and have good technical staff and distinguished players in all departments, such as Verratti, Msakni, Al Somah and Rafinha. I believe that their results in the league so far do not reflect the true capabilities of the team in general and therefore I am well aware that overcoming this obstacle requires great efforts,” said Marquez.

Al Wakrah player Nabil Irfan said, “All the players have great determination and a clear desire to achieve victory and get the three points.

“A strong match awaits us and I believe that the expected conflict in the midfield will play a major role in deciding the outcome of the match for one of the two teams, given that each team includes a large number of strong and distinguished players.

“Naturally, I am very happy with the confidence that the technical staff have given me and I hope to live up to the expectations of all team members.”