Baghdad-INA
Yesterday evening, Monday, the Air Force team launched its first training units in Saudi Arabia in preparation for facing its host, Al-Taawoun, tomorrow, Wednesday, in the framework of the second round of Group B competitions of the AFC Champions League.
Deputy Head of the Air Department, Haitham Kazem, said in a statement exclusively to Al-Sabah newspaper, followed by the (INA), that “the Falcons mission arrived yesterday, Monday, in order to meet the Al-Taawoun team in the team’s second match in the Asian competition,” adding that after his arrival, Al-Azraq played his first training units there. He stressed that Al-Jawiya does not suffer from absences and everyone is fully prepared to play the match, which is a positive advantage for the technical staff, which will choose the most appropriate one based on the game plan.
He added, “The Al-Taawoun confrontation is very difficult because it will be held in the competitor’s stadium and in front of its fans. However, his team is determined to present its best levels in order to achieve a good result that qualifies it for the top spot in Group Two. He indicated that the Saudi team is one of the most prominent candidates to reach the second round, as it includes in its ranks distinguished elements.” Such as the Venezuelan Rene Rivas, the Bolivian Lucas Chavez, the Moroccan Faisal Fajr, the Gambian Musa Barrow, and the Brazilian trio consisting of Andre Girotto, João Pedro and Flavio da Silva, led by Argentine coach Rodolfo Arruparena.
He explained, “Falcons coach Wissam Rizk has sufficient information about Al-Taawoun after reviewing some of its matches in the Saudi League, in addition to its first continental confrontation against the Bahraini team Al-Khalidiya, where he studied its strengths and weaknesses, and the circumstances of the match and the readiness of each party remain in determining the identity of the winner.”
It is noteworthy that the Air Force team began its journey by defeating Al-Tin Asir of Turkmenistan with two goals to one, while the Saudi Al-Taawoun team beat Al-Khalidiya of Bahrain by three goals to two.