Muharraq face must-win in qualifier

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s Muharraq Club have named an 18-player squad for their return match against Tunisian outfit Union Sportive Monastirienne (USM) this evening in the second qualification round for a berth in the 2023 King Salman Club Cup—the region’s top tournament organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations, also known as the Arab Club Champions Cup.

The Bahrainis face a tough challenge in the contest, being down 0-2 on aggregate following their loss in the first leg held in Tunis just over a week ago.

Tonight’s clash will be held at the Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium in Arad. It is scheduled for a 7pm kick-off.

Muharraq’s squad for the clash includes goalkeepers Sayed Mohammed Jaafar, Ashraf Waheed and Mohammed Suleiman.

The rest of the team features Mohammed Al Banna, Ahmed Rabea, Waleed Al Hayyam, Amine Hasan, Hamza Al Jibn, Abdulla Al Khalasi, Abdulwahab Ali, Moses Atede, Omar Saber, Mubarak Mohammed, Abdulwahab Al Malood, Sufyan Mahrouq, Ahmed Al Sherooqi, Abdulla Al Haiki and Muhammad Sulumba.

Muharraq have been preparing for the game over the past few weeks.

A loss in the matchup would make them the second Bahraini team to be booted out of the tournament, following in the footsteps of Manama, who lost in the first qualifying phase against Al Hilal Omdurman of Sudan.

Twelve teams remain in this second phase of qualification, which will determine the six teams that will move on to the group stage.

Ten squads have already entered the King Salman Club Cup directly, including champion clubs from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

The tournament carries a huge prize purse, with the champions pocketing a cool US$6million.

The runners-up get $2.5million, while the semi-finalists each take home $200,000 and the quarter-finalists $150,000 each.