Messi has been linked with a lucrative move to
the four-time Asian champions when his contract with Paris St
Germain expires at the end of the season, with the proposed move
coming after Cristiano Ronaldo's switch to Riyadh's Al Nassr in
January.
Diaz, however, stressed his sights are fixed on the meeting with
Urawa at Saitama Stadium in the continental club final rather
than the future of Argentina's World Cup-winning captain.
"Now we're focused on the game," said Diaz, whose side were held
to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Riyadh last week. "We have the
final and after the final we'll see what's going to happen."
Al Hilal are chasing a record-extending fifth Asian Champions
League success and are the holders after defeating Pohang
Steelers in the 2021 final.
Urawa hold a slim advantage through Shinzo Koroki's away goal
and Al Hilal will go into the game without the suspended Salem
Al Dawsari, who scored in the first leg before being sent off
late in the game.
Captain Salman Al Faraj is also expected to miss the game due to
injury but Diaz is confident his team have the experience to
overcome the loss of the influential duo.
"We have a big team and we are going to face a lot of fans here,
but we're used to it," he said.
"This team won the Asian Champions League twice (in the last
three editions). This is the third time, this is our target to
bring this home.
"We're going to try to concentrate and not have any mistakes
like the one that happened in Riyadh to cause the goal," he
added after Al Hilal defender Ali Al Bulayhi's attempted
interception hit the post and rebounded to Koroki who scored.
"We're an experienced team. The players have played in many
situations like this and we're looking forward to winning this
trophy."
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Ken Ferris)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.![](../../22/NEWS/column_spacer.png) |
|