Al Gharafa coach Pedro Martins spoke to the media ahead of his team’s 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 11 match against Al Shamal.

“I would like to talk about what happened in the last match because it is something important and we have to change it, and if we want change, we need to think differently.

“I have a team that always fights and works very seriously. We only play football and we do not stop and we always strive to play matches, but what happened in the last match is not good for football, because in a 105-minute match, we actually played for only 47 minutes. It is possible and that was not the problem of Al Gharafa, who always try to play and win.

“Regarding the preparation for the Al Shamal match, I would say that the preparation was normal, but there is a problem. We have one or two injuries among some of the players. As you know, Jang was injured in the last match and we will assess his condition.

“I am sure that everyone will be ready for the match because we want to achieve victory and it will be a difficult match because in some recent matches, Al Shamal achieved positive results, and therefore it will be a difficult match as always.

“We know that they beat us in the Ooredoo Cup, so we have all respect for them because they have a good team. We want to come back to achieve victories and this is our goal, but we certainly know that the competitor will be difficult and strong,” said Martins.

Al Gharafa player Saifeldeen Hassan said, “The players are fully prepared for the Al Shamal match.

“Al Shamal lost in the last round against Al Sadd and they will certainly strive to compensate and give off everything they have, but God willing, we will be ready to win the three points, and this is our goal for the match.

“Our fans do not need an invitation and, God-willing against Al Shamal, they will be present in largest possible numbers as usual to support the team.”