MUSCAT: The defending champion, Al Nahdha, will face Five-time winners Al Nasr in the first leg of the semifinals round of the His Majesty’s Cup football championship. Al Buraimi representative team will host the match at the Al Buraimi Sports Complex on Tuesday as the match will kick off at 5:30 pm.
Al Nahdha, coached by the experienced coach Hamed al Azani, secured spot to the semis after they outclassed Seeb in the quarterfinals as the first leg match ended for Al Nahdha by 2-1 and the second leg match finished in a goalless draw. Al Buraimi Governorate based team will eye to snatch a win that will raise the team’s chances to secure a slot in the final of the coveted Cup especially the match will be held in Al Buraimi Sports Complex and they will have an advantage of the fans crowd.
Al Nahdha entering this game with high hopes following their crucial win over Bahrain's Al Riffa 3-1 after extra-time on February 19 to wrap up a 4-2 aggregate victory in the AFC Cup 2023/24 West Zonal Semi-final at the Sultan Qaboos Sport Complex. Al Nahdha confirmed spot in the two-leg West Zonal final which will be held in April.
Al Azani will depend on many key players including the star of the national team player Salah al Yahyaei, Issam al Subhi, Harib al Saadi and many other essential players.
On the other hand, Al Nasr team will eye to get much closer to their sixth title after they had lifted the coveted Cup five times and the last one was in 2017/2018 season. Al Nasr under technical supervision of the head coach Cătălin-Mihai Dinu will aim for a strong show in today’s clash and end the game with positive result.
Fahmi Durbeen, Mahdi al Humidan from Bahrain, AbuBaker Masali will be some of the key players in Al Nasr’s squad that will be some choices of coach Mihai in the starting list of the game. Al Nasr reached to the semis after they won against Fanja 2-1 in the first leg and duplicated the win by 2-0 in the second leg game.
The other semifinal match of the His Majesty’s Cup football championship will be held on Wednesday between Bahla and Dhofar at Nizwa Sports Complex and the match will start 5:25 pm. The second leg matches will be held on March 10 between Dhofar and Bahla at Al Saada Sports Complex while Al Nahdha and Al Nasr will meet in the same venue on March 11.
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