Ulsan, Shenhua urged to rise to the challenges

Shenhuas midfielder Yu Hanchao (11) celebrates his goal with teammates during their AFC Champions League group F football against Australias Perth Glory on Wednesday.

Ulsan Hyundai head coach Kim Do-hoon and Shanghai Shenhua counterpart Choi Kang-hee challenged their respective sides to perform well in the 2020 AFC Champions League despite the hardships brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic ahead of the two teams Group F clash today.

The South Korean outfit picked up a point from a 1-1 draw against FC Tokyo back in February, needing a late own goal from the opposition to secure the draw.

Shanghai Shenhua, meanwhile, have three points to their name having got off to a 2-1 winning start against Perth Glory on Wednesday.

I am happy we can still play the games despite Covid-19, said Kim. We are under pressure and feel a little bit worried, but we are very proud we could represent South Korea in this competition.

We have to prepare well and work hard to give a good account of ourselves. We expect a tough game, but we will work hard to show our quality.

Shanghai Shenhua are in a more advanced stage having played here already but we have a lot of players with overseas experience and a lot of quality in our squad too, so we are hopeful we can overcome this situation. We want to show our quality on the pitch and we will not think about losing tomorrow.

Ulsan Hyundai are without the services of goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo who tested positive for Covid-19 while on international duty, while his fellow club and country teammates Kim Tae-hwan, Jung Seung-hyun and Won Du-jae remain in precautionary isolation, having tested negative after arriving to Qatar from the Korea Republic training camp in Austria.

Jo is trying to follow the protocols in Austria. We hope he will follow the guidelines and will be able to join us soon. The other three players are here now. They are fit to play but their health is the most important thing for us, so they are quarantined individually at the hotel. They should have no problem playing football as long as we adhere to the guidelines.

Compatriot Choi has already led his Shanghai Shenhua team to their first three points earlier in the week and they could potentially leapfrog FC Tokyo into first place in the group should they beat Ulsan Hyundai.

Under a difficult situation, we achieved victory in the first game, said the 61-year-old.

I feel we have already adapted to the new environment in Doha and overcome jet lag. The first match is always the most difficult but since weve already won, we think we will do well in the second match. Ulsan have strong players in every position, especially foreign players like Junior [Negrao]. We still have to do our best to put in a good performance.

Qatar qualify for AFC U20 Asian Cup finals

Messi strikes early to keep PSG top in Ligue 1

Captain Finch backs David ahead of India T20 opener

England, Pakistan to use series to gauge World Cup readiness

Late birdie lifts Homa to second straight PGA title

Waerenskjold wins U23 world time-trial title

Smith lifts LIV Golf title in Chicago, gets richer by $4mn

Osaka aims to break slump at Pan Pacific Open

Real triumph at rivals Atletico in spiky derby

Qatar highlights its support to international organisations

Global growth worries weigh on QSE sentiments as index tanks 165 points; M-cap erodes QR8bn

MoFA launches Twitter, Instagram accounts in French, Spanish

GULF TIMES SITE MAPPowered ByInformationADVERTISE IN GULF TIMES