Qatar head coach Carlos Queiroz said they must move on from their disappointing performance as hosts of last year's World Cup and focus on defending their Asian Cup title against "beautiful players" and "wonderful teams".Qatar finished bottom of their group at the World Cup, losing all three games under previous coach Felix Sanchez. The Gulf nation is due to host the Asian Cup in January and February next year, and the team will be defending champions after stunning Japan in the 2019 final."We are in one special moment because looking back a little bit, we've just finished the World Cup, and it was a little below the high expectations," Queiroz, who took over in February, told The National newspaper on Wednesday."So we have now one mission, which is to get back to normality and put things in the right way and make our team, our players and our fans understand that now we go for one competition level that is our world. We cannot challenge international football if we're not the best in Asia. So this is exactly what I want: to create this concept of the players and all the team to understand that in football there is one journey. And the journey starts when you start to play against yourself. And step by step, when we start to become more solid, we can extend our ideas. That’s my technical approach with them right now.”Qatar begin their Asian Cup defence against Lebanon before facing Tajikistan and China, but Queiroz knows far tougher challengers await after the group stage. "Now the most important thing is the next step, how we’re going to be prepared, how we’re going to be ready to compete against beautiful players, wonderful teams, the best in Asia," added the Portuguese coach."Because it will be hard. It will be a tough competition, but the most important thing is in the end to play good football, have a lot of fun, and bring as much pride and honour for the country."Asked how the mood is within the camp following the World Cup, Queiroz told The National: "What is this? I put a line now and there is nothing behind. This is a new era.”Qatar kick off their title defence against Lebanon on January 12 at Al Bayt Stadium. Queiroz, who led three-time winners Iran to the quarter-finals in 2015 and then to the semi-finals four years ago, said: "The first game is important not only for us, it’s for everybody in a short competition of four teams – the first game a lot of times dictates what will happen in the group. But it happens also sometimes that even the team that lose the first game became champions at the end."What is important is not only to know how to play, but to be ready to rebound from all and everything. Success is not a straight line in football; it is a line that will go up and down. In this kind of competition, you have to have a concrete stomach."
May 25, 2023 | 10:33 PM