Al Duhail First Football Team Head Coach Djamel Belmadi emphasized that his side did not deserve to lose tonight’s match to Tractor. He stated that a draw would have been the closest and fairest result for both teams, based on their performance throughout the game.

Opening his remarks at the post-match press conference, Belmadi said:

“Yesterday, I mentioned that we came here to deliver a standout performance and collect points. We were very close to securing a draw with only two minutes remaining. At the very least, if we couldn’t win, we should have taken a point, but in the end, we lost—which is a result we didn’t deserve tonight.”

Belmadi continued:
“The atmosphere was fantastic thanks to the incredible fans who greatly supported Tractor. Regarding the weather, the temperature here is twenty degrees lower than in Doha; while that’s not an excuse, I am pleased with the players’ performance today. As I mentioned, we were close to a result that I wouldn’t call the ‘best’ because our team always seeks a win, but we certainly didn’t deserve to lose. I believe a draw would have been the fair outcome for both sides.”

He concluded by saying:
“We lost the result, but we didn’t lose our presence on the pitch. We played with a different tactical approach, though we lost possession to the opponent. We are playing away from home against a well-organized team, and as I noted yesterday, the absence of Marco Verratti was clearly felt in the midfield. Ultimately, I cannot evaluate Tractor overall level, but I can say they are performing excellently and have achieved good results so far.”