Boussoufa’s form a big boost for Al Jazira
‘To come in after a three week break and to perform feels great’
Mbark Boussoufa’s fitness would have been a worry for Al Jazira coach Henk Ten Cate but in Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Auckland City, the Moroccan mid-fielder gave clear evidence that he was back at his best.
Coming into the crucial contest after a three weeks injury layoff, Boussoufa worked like a well-lubricated machine at the axis. It would have been heartening for the Jazira fans to see the attacking mid-fielder’s defence splitting passes putting Auckland City in lot of bother.
“It’s been a while since I was away. To come in after a three week break and to perform feels great and I’m really happy about that. I felt nice about my game today. It was not easy to come straight into such a match,” said a pleased looking Boussoufa, who had also played a key role earlier this year in helping his national team qualify for the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia following a 20-year absence from the event.
The victory against Auckland City would do a world of good going into the contest against Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds felt Boussoufa.
“The win was very important for us. First of all we are representing UAE and you don’t want to be knocked off in the first round,” said Boussoufa, Fifa want to scrap the Confederations Cup and make the Club World Cup bigger, according to reports in Spanish sports daily
The ‘Super Club World Cup’ would incorporate 24 teams, 17 more than the current seven, and last 20 days as opposed to the current 10.
Europe (Uefa) would be allocated 12 of the 24 berths, making it the largest confederation represented. South America (Conmebol) would get five slots, and Asia (AFC), Africa (Caf) and North America (Concacaf) would all get two, while Oceania (OFC) gets just one.
The last four Uefa Champions League winners would qualify along with the last four finalists, or by being a team with the best coefficient. who, however, was disappointed with his sides approach in the second half despite taking the lead.
“I think we ourselves made it a bit difficult in the second half. We were protecting the 1-0 instead of going for 2-0 win. We were lucky sometimes in the second half. We put ourselves into difficult situations but the important thing is we won,” revealed Boussoufa adding that the victory brings in a lot of confidence in the Jazira camp and they can now look forward to the real challenge in the competition.