Qatar defender Khalid Muftah (right) on his arrival with the rest of team in Canberra yesterday for the AFC Asian Cup. The Annabis play their first match on January 11 against UAE. Pictures: Fadi Al-Assaad

 

 

By Sports Reporter/Doha


The big 3-0 win over Estonia has boosted the morale of the players ahead of next month’s Asian Cup, Qatar left back Khalid Muftah said on Saturday.
This was Qatar’s first appearance since winning the 2014 Gulf Cup last month.
Qatar beat regional giants and hosts Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the Gulf Cup final in Riyadh.
“Qatar football has developed at all levels,” Muftah said in an interview. “Now that we are in clearly good form, we are looking at something better – we are looking at the Asian Cup,” he added.
“As a player, I want to participate at the Asian Cup and I hope we win in Australia,” he added.
“We must be humble as we are not a major power in Asia. But winning the Gulf Cup and following it with a display like tonight’s motivates us to do better,” the Lekhwiya player said.
Qatar featured in the quarter-finals of the last Asian Cup held in Doha in 2011.
Managed by Bruno Metsu, Qatar lost to eventual champions Japan in 2011.
“We must continue to work seriously and make appropriate plans,”
Muftah said. “We know our level of play and we know what needs to be done, our moral is high and we feel confident,” he said.

Qatar unbeaten in 10 games
Qatar will head into the AFC Asian Cup as one of the form teams in the tournament after continuing their strong run of results with a 3-0 victory over Estonia.
The 2014 Gulf Cup of Nations champions extended their unbeaten streak to ten matches with a dominant victory over a team ranked 14 places higher than them.
The goals came in a 13 minute period in the opening half with Mohammad Muntari opening the scoring on 23 minutes.
Abdul Karim made it 2-0 on the half hour mark before Mohammad Ismail put the match beyond Estonia’s reach nearing half time.
Djamel Belmadi’s men have now won seven of their past ten including a 1-0 victory over AFC Asian Cup hosts Australia and a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Cup final.
Qatar will now head to Australia and play their final friendly on New Year’s Eve when they face Oman in Canberra.
They will then be confident of progressing through a group that features Iran, Bahrain and the UAE.


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