Portuguese coach Alexandre Santos of the Royal Army confirmed that his team must make a great effort to qualify for the quarter-finals of the African Champions League.

The Royal Army defeated Young Africans with a clean goal yesterday, Saturday, in the fifth round of the African Champions League.

Santos said in statements during the press conference: "There was some frustration because we missed the opportunity to score the second goal, but the most important thing is that as a group we should be very proud of the team's collective spirit."

He added: "It was not easy to continue playing after the heavy rain and numerous difficulties, especially since controlling the ball was difficult. We played a good first half, but the second half was amazing, as it was a showcase of our team's strength, desire, and ambition."

He continued: "We tried many times to score the first goal, and our ball possession reached 72%. It is true that this possession also came because the Young Africans team was only seeking to get a draw."

He concluded: "I believe we clearly showed here that we deserve second place, and that we deserve to reach the quarter-finals, but we still lack one point. We may seem happy and pleased, but the work is not finished yet."

He concluded: "We need to make a great effort to secure at least one point, because the goal is always to win, and we will travel to Cairo to play the match with the aim of competing for victory, of course."

The Moroccan team is close to qualifying for the quarter-finals of the tournament as they need just one point from the match against Al Ahly in the final round of the group stage to secure their qualification.

The Royal Army and Al Ahly match will take place next Friday at 6:00 PM Cairo time.