Head coach Felix Sanchez has hailed Qatar’s competitive spirit following Friday’s thrilling 3-2 win over Palestine which propelled his side into the AFC U23 Championship semi-finals.
Qatar resolutely survived a late fightback from a resilient Palestine side, after Almoez Ali’s brace and Hashim Ali’s second half strike had put them in control of the last eight encounter in Changzhou.
While the victory helped set up a last four meeting with Vietnam, who defeated Iraq 5-3 via penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw yesterday, Sanchez believes it also underlined one of his squad’s key characteristics.
“I think these players have showed for the last four years that they are very competitive,” explained the Spaniard, who oversaw the Qatar side that finished fourth at the tournament’s 2016 edition.
“This group won the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship in Myanmar, and they reached the last four at the U23 Championship two years ago in Qatar.
“We are (once again) in the last four, while a lot of teams who came to win this competition are already out. We are also in the top four of Asia which for Qatar is, I believe, a very good achievement.
“But of course, we are going to fight very hard to go even further in this competition.”
Despite being encouraged by what he has seen from his players so far, Sanchez remains adamant that both Qatar’s potential semi-final opponents have enough quality to provide yet another stiff test.
“The odd result apart, we know that the teams in this tournament are all on a similar level. We are pleased to reach this stage, but are aware that we have another tough game to come,” he said.
“My players have made a huge effort to reach this position of the tournament, and they gave everything (against Palestine). We fully trust our team not just as a group but as individuals.
Meanwhile, Almoez Ali has urged his Qatar side to stay focused after the hotshot striker scored twice to help beat Palestine 3-2.
“It is amazing that I was able to score two (more goals), and I want to say congratulations to my team because we played a very good game,” he said following the win. “Qualifying for the semi-finals is very important for us, and we are very happy to reach this stage (of the tournament). However, I will still tell my team that we must continue working hard if we are to win the title.”
Ali has now scored against three of the four teams he has faced in China, an impressive record that the tournament’s leading goalscorer is understandably looking to maintain.
“I hope I can continue to keep scoring and get more goals, and that my team keeps on winning until the end of the tournament.
“I hope we can win the title,” he added.
The other semi-final will be between South Korea and Uzbekistan after the Koreans defeated Malaysia 2-1.
