Qatar coach Jose Daniel Carreno during his team’s training session yesterday ahead of the World Cup qualifying match against Maldives today. Pictures: Fadi al-Assaad
By Joe Koraith/Doha
Qatar have had a perfect record in the first half of their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. They have won all their four matches and currently top Group C. Today the second half begins when they take on Maldives at the Jassim bin Hamad stadium.
Twelve teams will progress from this Round 2 of the Russia World Cup qualifying campaign and Qatar look poised to gain an automatic qualification to Round 3 by finishing on top of their group. And they will look to extend their advantage at the top against Maldives today. However they will wary of the fact that the last time these two met, Qatar were able to snatch three points courtesy of a 98th minute goal by Ahmed El Sayed.
Which is why Qatar coach Jose Daniel Carreno believes this match is as important as the one against China. “I had said after winning against China that the match against Maldives is the most important. I said that because we need to focus on this match and not on the things that will come after the match. These three points are very important for us and if we win we will have gone that much further in qualifying for the next round,” said Carreno yesterday.
The home side had produced a strong performance during their 1-0 win over China but playing a team like Maldives who are ranked 84 places below Qatar could result in the players letting down their guard. Carreno said that his coaching staff had put more focus on the mental aspect during this short break between the two matches. “Usually after an important win against a big team, the level of performance comes down. But we have focussed on the mental aspect during the training and our players are ready on both the psychological and the tactical front. I am confident that my players will show a lot of discipline during the match. They are convinced that this is a very important match for us,” said the Uruguayan yesterday.
Score early
The Maldives defence had proven to be a tough nut to crack when these two teams had met earlier. But coach Carreno believes that while his teams needs to score early, it’s not something that will prompt him to change the team’s style of play. “We must play the match in a clever way. We will look for these three points right from the start. That’s something we have been doing in all the matches. Football is never complete attack or complete defence. Teams have to attack and defend equally well. We will have a good defence and focus on keeping possession of the ball,” he said.
For Qatar, Khalfan Ibrahim has recovered from the injury problems plaguing him and looks set to feature in this match. Defender Ibrahim Majid will also make a return to the team. Sebastian Soria showed good form in the last match against China where he was able to use his physical prowess to muscle past the Chinese defenders. The problem of plenty is one which Carreno won’t mind.
Carreno was appointed as Qatar’s coach in May and has had a good run so far with his team having played nine matches including friendlies. The Maldives coach, Ricki Herbert, on the other hand has just been with the team for one match. In that match his team survived a late onslaught from Bhutan to register their first win in this World Cup qualifying campaign. The New Zealander accepts that this match will be a tough test for his team but is looking forward to the experience that his team will gain out of it. “The last few days have been good and I thank the QFA for the hospitality. I have had a short time for preparation. But I am looking to prepare a better team for Maldives in the future. We are looking forward to playing against Qatar. They are a strong team and it will be an exciting challenge for us,” said Herbert yesterday.
Though his team are clearly the underdogs going into today’s match, Herbert is not planning to park the proverbial bus and frustrate the Qatari strikers. “We need to play like Qatar to improve our level. We know it will be a big hurdle but we are going to be positive. We are not going to be a side that will sit back and defend. We will look to charge ahead and cause problems for Qatar,” said the Maldives coach.
“Around the world we are seeing interesting results in football. Let’s hope we can also pull off a surprise,” Herbert added.
The game promises to be an open game and that will work in Qatar’s favour who will go into this match looking for their fifth consecutive win.
