Tehran: Iraq’s Nafit Al Wasat will look to continue their maiden AFC Cup campaign with victory over Syria’s Al Jaish in Wednesday’s last 16 tie, with coach Falah Hassan counting on his side’s impressive record at PAS Ghavamin Stadium.
Debutants Nafit Al Wasat topped Group B after losing just once, but crucially ahead of the meeting with Group D runners-up Al Jaish, Hassan’s side claimed three wins in their adopted home stadium.
And with Al Jaish having posted a mixed away record in Group B, Hassan is eyeing a place in September’s quarter-finals despite heading into the one-off knockout tie with a depleted squad, including the absence of injured forward Jasim Mohammed, pictured celebrating his Matchday 6 winner against Al Faisaly with team-mate Salih Sadeer .
“This is a life or death match, so we have to put every effort to win it. We know Al Jaish quite well as we have three Syrian players in our squad who helped us to recognise their strengths and weaknesses,” said Nafit Al Wasat coach Hassan.
“We have a couple of injured players, but I believe the reserve players are at the same level of the first team ones.
“Playing here in Iran as the host team is the most important thing for us as we have earned the most points of the group stage games in home matches. I hope this won’t be our last match in Iran.”
Al Jaish, meanwhile, will seek to build on their first appearance in the knockout stage since winning the 2004 AFC Cup title.
Ahmad Al Shaar’s side finished runners-up in Group D, which included drawing one match and losing another away from home.
“Tomorrow we have a very important game against Nafit Al Wasat, who have qualified as the Group B winner,” said Al Jaish coach Al Shaar.
“We have analysed their last two matches and I believe they are a very strong side, but we have our own strategies to beat them.
“As this is a single match that decides the winner, we’ll try our best to get the result. We came here to win and qualify for the last eight.”
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário