Tajikistan may have sealed knockout stage qualification in their debut AFC Asian Cup campaign but head coach Petar Segrt said the Central Asian side are not satisfied just yet.If anything, advancing to the Round of 16 has made Tajikistan even hungrier and, more importantly, placed them on an equal footing with the United Arab Emirates - who they meet on Sunday."The buzz around our historic win is now a thing of the past and I don’t want the players to feel that kind of pressure with every match,” Segrt said on Saturday."Now, we are no longer a lesser team and whether our match against the UAE lasts 90 minutes or 120, I have full faith in my team and know they’re going to give their best.”The Croatian said Tajikistan will face the UAE confident of winning, having played to a goalless draw with the 1996 AFC Asian Cup runners-up last year."We met UAE not so long ago and held them to a 0-0 game, but that was a friendly and they’ve changed a lot since then. However, the same holds true for Tajikistan. We will fight till the last minute and make the time away from our families count."We have had some minor setbacks with the team, with some small injuries and cautions but the UAE are not without trouble either. I can say with conviction that we have a 50-50 chance of reaching the quarter-finals.”UAE head coach Paulo Bento acknowledged the threat posed by the crowns and agreed with Segrt on the two teams being equally capable of achieving victory."It would be a big mistake to take Tajikistan lightly after all they have done in the competition so far,” said Bento. "They are very good at building their game from the back and have also displayed a good offensive approach, so I’m certain that they will demand a lot from our team."We are at the stage of the competition where we don’t get a do-over and thus, we are going to have to avoid giving into Tajikistan’s strong points. We are not considering ourselves favourites and will need to perfect several aspects of our game to come out superior.”Meanwhile UAE defender Khalid al-Hashemi said past encounters against central Asian teams will help his side find solutions against last 16 opponents Tajikistan.In the 14 months leading up to the tournament, the UAE played friendly matches against Central Asian sides Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic.They also faced Kazakhstan."It is an important match in the Round of 16, no team reaches this stage if they were an easy team to face,” said al-Hashemi. "Most of our friendly matches were similar teams, so we know their style and we know what to expect. We know they can be physical and tough to challenge. The friendlies help us a lot in preparing for how to play and how to get the win on the pitch."We have to remain focused, follow the coach’s instructions and hopefully we can get the result.”Back in 2019, the Whites faced another debutant side from central Asia in the Round of 16; the clash against Kyrgyz Republic at Zayed Sports City proved to be a hard-fought battle, with the Emiratis needing an extra-time goal from an Ahmed Khalil penalty to win it after the 90 minutes ended 2-2. The UAE went on to reach the semi-finals.With Tajikistan the next opponents at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Sunday, al-Hashemi drew parallels with the previous tournament which he watched as a supporter, with his international debut only arriving three years later. In Qatar 2023, just like they did under Alberto Zaccheroni in 2019, the UAE have come under criticism the microscope from local media for what has been described as less than convincing performances."It was a good tournament which made us proud as Emiratis in 2019."In these tournaments, it is always about winning and qualifying, rather than performance."You could play the best game in your history and still not win, so it will not matter. You can play a game that doesn’t look great but you get that important result. For us, what matters the most is to win.”
January 27, 2024 | 11:39 PM