Ahmed Hegazi, the defender and captain of the Saudi football club Al-Ittihad, acknowledged the difficulty of the match against Nafbatkhor during the round of 16 encounter in the AFC Champions League.
The match between the two teams took place on Thursday evening, with a goalless draw dominating the proceedings.
The return leg is scheduled to be played in Saudi Arabia next Thursday at 6 PM Cairo time.
Commenting on Al-Ittihad’s draw, Hegazi remarked, “The match against Nafbatkhor was indeed tough.
We attempted to score against the opponent several times but we failed to find the net.
Our team possesses the capabilities to advance to the quarter-finals in the return leg played on our home ground.”
He added, “We cannot ignore the factors surrounding the match, nor can we consider them as excuses for our performance, but they did have a negative impact on us,” referring to the poor condition of the pitch.
Al-Ittihad managed to register 9 shots (with one on target), with the team’s possession reaching 64%.
Additionally, the team completed a total of 592 passes.
