The most positive aspect to emerge from Qatar football team’s rise in the past year has been the way it has played on bigger occasions.
Higher the odds, the team’s performance has been even better.
After a shock defeat to Iraq in their 24th Arabian Gulf Cup opening match, Qatar were under pressure and Felix Sanchez’s men duly responded with convincing wins over Yemen and the United Arab Emirates to enter the semi-finals.
Tonight at the Al Janoub stadium, Qatar players will once again be expected to rise to the occasion when they face Saudi Arabia for a place in the final. This could be Qatar’s biggest test in the competition, but in Sanchez they have a coach who has got the best out of his players in important matches.
The Spaniard will be hoping that he can continue that trend as Qatar players will be greeted by a packed, vocal home crowd.
“It’s always nice to play under pressure in front of your fans,” said Sanchez said yesterday.
“We are playing against a strong team and everyone knows their quality. We’ve the confidence in our players, and ready to do well,” he added.
Sanchez and Qatar will have some of the finest talents in Asian to rely on against Saudis. The newly-crowned Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif will lead the charge upfront, with the Al Sadd striker showing some silky skills this season.
Afif was instrumental in Qatar’s win over UAE on Monday as he calmed the nerves in the home camp with two goals. The 23-year-old will once again carry the burden of scoring in his shoulders, with his fellow forward Almoez Ali not in the best of form. Winger Abdelkarim Hassan, who was Asia’s best player of 2018, is threat in front of the goals as well as solid in defence.
“At this point in the competition, you cannot make mistakes,” Sanchez cautioned his players, though. “We are playing against a strong team, we will try to play our game, we have our strengths and we will do our best to get a strong result. At this point, every game is a final if you lose you will be out so we have to be at our best,” the 43-year-old added.
Overcoming fatigue will be an important factor. Due to the cramped schedule of the tournament, Qatar today will play their fourth match in ten days. The hosts have already been dealt a huge blow after centre-back Bassam al-Rawi was ruled of the competition after he broke his leg during the Iraq game. Sanchez gave his players off on Tuesday, with the players returning to training yesterday.
“The most important is to have the payers fit for the game. The next game is a difficult one because of the quality of the opponent. But we are confident in the qualities of our players and their commitment for this game. All the other players are okay and ready to play,” Qatar head coach said.
After the win over UAE, Qatar players stayed on the pitch for a long time as they celebrated with the crowd. “In terms of the emotions, the last game was a very important one. We knew the importance of it and didn’t want to fail in front of home crowd. I think we celebrated in a fair way, respecting everyone. It’s difficult to win every game, but we need to value the effort the players put in,” Sanchez said.
Like Qatar, Saudi too have grown in the competition. Herve Renard’ side had got to a worst possible start with a 1-3 loss to Kuwait in their opening match, but bounced back with easy wins over Bahrain and Oman to finish as Group B toppers. Saudi have won the Gulf Cup three times, but the last of it came in 2003, a drought they will be keen to bring to an end.
Renard was under no illusion of the threat posed by Qatar, adding that he has been preparing his players for the game against the Asian champions. “We are happy to qualify for the semi-finals. It’s a top game and a tough one, but we’re ready,” he said.
“There’s no specific pressure on us. We’re happy to play in a beautiful stadium in front of a packed stadium that would keep the adrenaline flowing for the teams. I respect our opponents after having watched two of their matches in the Asian Cup. We know we’re playing against the Asian champions, but we don’t fear anybody. We’ve a good team spirit and are excited to play this game,” the Frenchman added.
Renard will rely on Al Hilal players, who are fresh from winning the AFC Champions League last month, to deliver against Qatar. The Green Falcons have plenty of pace on the wings in the form of Hattan Bahebri and Salem al-Dawsari, who will pose problems for Qatar defenders.
While Renard emphasised on his side’s strengths, he also pointed out that Qatar has weakness that his team will look to exploit. “Qatar is scoring a lot of goals. In the offensive part they are good. They are efficient in front of goal but they have weakness like all the teams,” he said.
“We are here to prepare the game well. We will show all the players where we can put our opponents in a difficult situation. I hope we can beat Qatar tomorrow,” said Renard, who has previously won the African Cup of Nations with Zambia and Ivory Coast.
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez (centre) and goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb address a press conference on the eve of their 24th Arabian Gulf Cup semi-final against Saudi Arabia in Doha.
