Al Duhail Head Coach Christophe Galtier confirmed that the team arrived in Riyadh in order to defend its chances in the AFC Champions League despite the lack of time and absences. The coach said the pre-match press conference that was held at 6 pm in the evening today in the press conference hall at the First Park Stadium: We did not have enough time to prepare for this confrontation, because when I assumed my duties, there was an absence of international players who were participating with their national teams, in addition to the injury of a number of the team’s players, and I played only one official match. Despite that, we worked a lot and studied Al Nasr team, and despite all these circumstances, the team arrived in Riyadh in order to play a tough match. I trust the team players’ abilities to achieve a positive result.

The coach continued: I have watched Al Nasr last match in the league and witnessed how they executed direct free kicks and how they succeeded in using them to reach the goal, whether from Taulisca or Ronaldo, which made me work with the team’s players on the necessity of avoiding committing fouls in front of the penalty area.

Galtier added: In such matches, one must be careful and work to secure the backline, focus on the teamwork, play under pressure whether on the field or from the fans in the stands, show the true capabilities, and evoke the team’s personality.

Regarding the team’s offensive philosophy, the coach stated: The team has a clear offensive philosophy, but to activate this philosophy, we must have the tools that help us to implement it. Now we have a confrontation in which we know that we will face a team that has players with great individual skills and therefore has many keys whether from depth or from the wings, which we will work to stop.