Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Takafumi Hori insists Urawa Red Diamonds are in confident mode ahead of the second leg of the AFC Champions League final with Al Hilal on Saturday.
The sides go into the tie on level terms after playing out a 1-1 draw in Riyadh last week after Omar Khribin cancelled out Rafael Silva's early strike.
Urawa will be crowned continental champions should they claim a seventh home win on the bounce, while a scoreless draw would also see them lift the AFC Champions League for a second time.
"This game is going to be very difficult but it's at home at Saitama Stadium which means we can play with the full support of our fans," said Urawa head coach Hori.
"After the first game we have prepared fully and we are very confident about the game tomorrow, so we're hoping to get the result that will make our fans happy."
Urawa's leading scorer Silva had given the 2007 continental champions the perfect start at King Fahd International Stadium last week, but Hori's team then had to withstand a wave of pressure.
Indeed Urawa were indebted to their goalkeeper, Shusaku Nishikawa, who made a string of excellent saves to earn his side the draw.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/urawa_rafael_silva_jpg.html
