JEDDAH: Riyadh-based Al-Nasr faces a must-win situation in the match against Qatar’s Al-Khor today in the 24th Gulf Cup Championship.
Anything less than a win would end the semifinal hopes of Nasr which will also have to deal with the hostile crowd in Doha.
Nasr’s 2-1 win Saturday against Oman’s Nahda and Al-Muharaq’s dramatic 1-1 draw on Sunday with Khor revived the Saudi club’s hopes of qualifying for the next round.
With four points Nasr is currently third in Group A trailing Al-Muharaq by two points.
Nasr club has tapped the services of Saudi international forward Saad Al-Harithy for the crucial match. The player was scheduled to land in Doha yesterday.
Jeddah based Al-Ahli qualified for the semifinals on top of Group B with 7 points to its credit. Kuwait’s Al-Salmiyah qualified second of the group.
Al-Qadisia of Kuwait became the first team to qualify for the semifinals from Group A by beating Al-Nahda of Oman 4-0 yesterday.
The victory gave Qadisia, who faces Al-Salmiyah in the semifinal, a leading tally of 10 points.
Meantime, Saudi national team coach Naser Al-Jowhar has called up Hussein Abdul Ghani to join the national team. Abdul Ghani is currently playing professional football with the Swiss team Neuchâtel Xamax FC. He is expected back in Riyadh in a few days to start training with the rest of the team.
