Qatar League: Al Rayyan Players Look Forward to Winning Over Al Arabi Thursday

Doha, August 10 (QNA) - A number of players of the first football team at Al Rayyan club expressed their great happiness to play the highly-anticipated match against Al Arabi in the second round of the QNB Stars League for the 2022-2023 season. The match is set to take place tomorrow Thursday at Lusail Stadium, one of the stadiums of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. This will be the stadium's first match in an official competition. The Lusail Stadium, which has a capacity of 80,000, will host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final on Dec. in conjunction with the National Day celebrations. It will also host six matches in the group stage and three matches in the knockout rounds, including one of the two semi-finals. For his part, French star midfielder Steven Nzonzi said he was happy to play this match on one of the stadiums preparing to host the World Cup matches. In a statement to the Qatar news agency (QNA), Nzonzi said the match was very forward, and hoped the team can deliver a good result. He added that playing the match at the Lusail Stadium made it even more unique. He maintained however that, like all other matches, its about the three points and admitted that winning this particular match will mean a lot from the fans. He highlighted that the Al Rayyan - Al Arabi derby is one of the most-heated matches of the league. Meanwhile, Palestinian international Yasser Hamad acknowledged the difficulty of the match, pointing out that everyone in the team is looking to achieve the first three points this season, especially after the unexpected loss in the first round meeting. Hamad stressed the match's importance to the team, and added that he looked forward to playing at Lusail Stadium. The Palestinian national team player concluded his remarks to QNA by saying he was delighted with his experience in Qatar, describing it as a wonderful country and said that hosting the World CUp in the country will be an important turning point. In turn, the defensive midfielder of the Al Rayyan team Ali Malallah said in his speech about facing Al Arabi tomorrow in the second round of the Qatar Football League competitions that the meetings of Al-Arabi and Al-Rayyan receive special attention, and this will be increased by their stay at the Lusail World Cup stadium, and the team relies a lot on Al Rayyan audience, which always has the most prominent role in such mass matches. He highlighted that any play would love to play at a stadium hosting the World Cup, adding that he hopes the team will help put a smile on the fans' faces tomorrow after the match with Al Arabi. He said the team aims for a top-four finish this year, and a fight for the league title, in addition to reaching the last-16 in the UEFA Champions League. Ibrahim Masoud for his part pointed out that Al Arabi team is coming into the match on good form, having improved significantly from last year. At the end of his remarks to QNA, Masoud wished that the fans of Al-Rayyan team would be strongly present in the Qatari football derby, and said that the fans have never let the team down before, and this match is a mass match in the first place, so I expect that the attendance will be strong by the fans of Al-Rayyan team who love the team". The Lusail Stadium is located in the city of Lusail, and its design was inspired by the intersection of light and shadow characteristic of the traditional Arab lighthouse, and its facade and structure reflect the delicate inscriptions that distinguished food bowls, pots and artifacts found in the Arab and Islamic world in ancient times. (QNA)