Published On 4/27/2026
Al-Sadd team was crowned champion of the Qatari Football League “Doha Bank Stars League” with a 3-2 victory over its direct competitor Al-Shamal, in an exciting summit at the end of the exciting season’s competitions as well, on Monday evening.
Afif and Firmino lead Al Sadd to achieve the 19th title
Al Sadd took the lead with two goals in the first half, scored by Akram Afif and Roberto Firmino in the 20th and 22nd minutes.
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In the second half, Al-Shamal reduced the gap with a goal in the 65th minute, scored by Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah, but Al-Sadd quickly responded with a goal by Paolo Ottavio in the 68th minute.
Firmino scored a fourth goal in the 73rd minute. VAR intervened by calling it offside, so the goal was disallowed, before Gerson Morillo added the second goal for Al-Shamal from a penalty kick in the 85th minute.
Al-Shamal was affected by the lack of numbers in its ranks after its player Abdel Samad Bonasser was sent off four minutes into the second half.
With this result, Al-Sadd climbs to the top with 45 points, five points ahead of Al-Shamal, so Al-Zaeem celebrates the title for the third time in a row, and the 19th in its history, while its rival’s hopes of a historic first title are lost.
Al-Sadd clinched the title itself after it was won one round before the end of the competition after Al-Shamal lost to Qatar Club with a score of (0-1) in a postponed match.
However, on April 19, the Disciplinary Committee of the Qatar Football Association decided to consider Al-Shamal a deeming winner with a score of (3-0) due to Qatar Club’s violation of the regulations regarding the number of foreign players participating in the match.
Because of this decision, the difference was reduced again to two points, so that deciding the identity of the champion of the current season 2025/2026 was postponed, so that Al Sadd confirmed its worth in snatching the title from its direct competitor.
In the decisive match, Al-Shamal did not take advantage of its advantage in the first quarter of an hour, as Al-Sadd goalkeeper Mishal Barshim saved an opportunity by blocking Bounedjah’s header after a cross from Mohamed Waad, after which Alex Quiado missed another opportunity close to the goal.
Al Sadd’s response was harsh, as they scored two goals in less than two minutes, the first of which was a shot from Akram Afif that changed direction before entering the goal.
Claudinho then passed a perfect through pass to Firmino, who calmly shot into the net, giving the defending champion a two-goal lead after 22 minutes.
Al-Shamal tried to return to the match, but Al-Sadd goalkeeper Mishal Barshim was alert in blocking two attempts from Mohamed Manai and Bounedjah, and Al-Shamal goalkeeper Babakir Sik responded by blocking Giovanni’s shot.
While Claudinho’s ball bounced off the post, depriving Al Sadd of a third goal in the 37th minute.
Rafa Mujica, the Al-Sadd striker, wasted a clear shot alone, shooting the ball into the body of the goalkeeper in the 44th minute, while Al-Shamal’s player Muwafaq Awad concluded the efforts of the first half, which was exciting in its events.
The second half was more exciting, as Al-Shamal suffered a heavy blow when its player Abdel Samad Bounasser was sent off for a violent challenge against Akram Afif after only four minutes.
But despite the numerical deficiency, Al-Shamal reduced the gap with Bounedjah’s goal after a perfect pass from Quiado in the 65th minute.
But Al Sadd responded strongly after only 3 minutes, and scored a third goal with an Otavio shot from inside the penalty area.
Five minutes later, Firmino scored a fourth goal, but the referee indicated that Akram Afif was offside, so the score remained (3-1).
Al-Shamal did not surrender, but continued the attack, as Bounedjah missed a new opportunity thanks to a distinguished save by Meshal Barshim, before the video technology intervened by awarding a penalty kick for Abdullah Al-Yazidi, the Al-Shamal player, from which his teammate Jason Morillo scored the second goal in the 85th minute.
Al-Shamal risked all its lines in pursuit of an equaliser, while Claudinho wasted the last attempt in the 94th minute with a shot over the crossbar, before the final whistle sounded after six minutes of stoppage time had been counted.
