Coach Hernan Crespo expressed his happiness with the team’s victory this evening, describing it as a well-deserved victory. Crespo said in the post match press conference: We deserved to qualify, and the match was long in its time and reached penalties, but our players did everything necessary.

Crespo continued: We scored two goals that the referee overruled, although I see them as valid goals, but I respect the decisions of the referee and the VAR referees. Eventually we achieved a deserved victory and succeeded in qualifying.

Crespo said: We had the highest possession of the ball throughout the match, but we did not score, and we did not deserve to reach the penalty shootout, but what happened today is an achievement that I am proud of accomplishing with the players who can make history and continue a successful campaign in this tournament.

Commenting on Al Rayyan’s performance, the coach said: I was not surprised by the level of Al Rayyan in light of its advanced performance in the league.