Qatar seek to end 24-year wait for Olympic spot

Qatar’s football team will be seeking to end a 24-year wait for a place at the Olympics, when the AFC U-23 Championship kicks-off here in Doha today.
Qatar has not qualified for the Olympics since 1992 Barcelona Games, where they bowed out in the quarter-finals. It’s been a long drought, but a streak which is expected to come to an end this time.
The top three finishers at the AFC U-23 Championship will earn places in Brazil in the summer, replacing the previous format of home-and-away Olympic qualifiers. And Qatar is hoping to seal a third appearance at the Olympics, which they first did in 1984. Felix Sanchez’s boys are one of the favourites to secure a place at this year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August.
The hosts, who are in Group A, begin their quest tonight at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, where they run into one of the contenders, China.  Before that, Iran will take on Syria in the opening match of the championship. The tournament, which runs from today to January 30th, is expected to showcase rising stars of Asian football with 16 teams fighting for the honours. The quality of the football on show is likely to be high, considering traditional heavyweights like Korea Republic, Japan and Iraq participating. The likes of Vietnam, Thailand and Yemen, all of whom impressed during qualifiers nine months ago, are also likely to spring a surprise.
Qatar, despite earning automatic qualification as hosts, will be eager to put on a show in front of passionate home fans. The team is buzzing with optimism after Coach Sanchez led them to the title in the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship in Myanmar and thus earned qualification for last year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. However, they finished third in the 2015 WAFF U-23 Championship in October.
Sanchez, while acknowledging team’s chances, said his team would take it one game at a time. “Of course we need to go step-by-step, game-by-game, because every game is going to be different and they will be very important. We are going to try to do well in each of them, with the final target to be in the Olympic Games,” the 40-year-old Spaniard said yesterday.
The Qatar squad features several players who won the AFC U-19 Championship title – including Belgium-based Akram Afif, who scored the winning goal in the final. Al Sadd’s Abdelkarim Hassan is another player to watch out for. The 22-year-old centre-back has already played over 40 times for the senior side and is being tipped to be the captain of the 2022 World Cup team.
One of the most experienced players in the entire competition, the Al Sadd star reads the game well, is strong in the tackle and on the ball and is ready to stake his claim to become one of Asia’s top defenders.
Sanchez, however, chose to focus on team rather than an individual and said they will have to play well as a unit to emerge successful. “I strongly believe that we are a team and each player has his role. They all are really important, whether they are in the starting XI or in the bench. Hopefully this is going to be our strength. To be a strong team everyone needs to make an effort when it is needed. That is the only to compete against other teams,” the coach said.
On tonight’s opener against China, Sanchez knows his team will face a tough challenge. “We expect the first game to be a very important game, we have to start well in the competition and we will play against a well organised and quality team. We’re going to try to be ready to play well, to perform well and to be successful,” he added.
Meanwhile, China will be attempting to seal their first appearance at the Olympic Games since hosting the event in Beijing in 2008. Their coach Fu Bo was hoping for a good start against Qatar. “We think Qatar is a very strong team, but we will prepare well for this game and hopefully we can get a good result,” said Fu, who previously served as the caretaker coach of the senior national team.
“Our players do feel some pressure, but our coaches will try to relieve that pressure as we get prepared for the game because it’s really important,” he added.
At Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, meanwhile, the tournament opening game will be held between other Group A teams, Iran and Syria. Iran’s coach Mohammad Khakpour said ahead of the game that his team’s aim is not just to qualify for Rio, but win their maiden AFC U-23 Championship.
“We are ready for this tournament,” said the former Iran national team defender and FIFA World Cup star. “I’m really proud to have 23 players who are willing to die and sacrifice for their country and do their best for their people and country. Our target is not just to qualify for the Olympics; we are looking at being champions for this tournament. We are looking for first place and hopefully we can achieve that. We have been working so hard to perform well because the audience has to enjoy the game and enjoy seeing the next stars of Asian football,” Khakpour added.
On the other hand, Syria have had a hard time preparing for the big event, with strife at home hampering their training.  But coach Muhannad al-Fakeer was confident his team can make a strong start against an Iran team his side lost 2-0 to in a friendly late last year.
“We know this is a first match in this competition and we know it’s important and we know many things about the Iran team,” said al-Fakeer. “Iran will be very different to what we saw two months ago here in Qatar. We know the Iran team is a good team, has very strong players. It will be a very tough match, but we believe it will be the passport to qualify for the next stage. We wish to get a good result against them.”
Teams from other groups, who are expected to dominate are Korea Republic, Japan are Australia. Shin Tae-Yong’s Korea enter the competition targeting their tenth Olympic appearance. The bronze-medallist at London 2012, Korea has remained undefeated in the build-up to the campaign.
Japan, bronze medal winners at Mexico 1968, under Makoto Teguramori progressed to AFC Championship, as group winners in the qualifiers. Meanwhile, Aurelio Vidmar’s Australia team is filled with stars, which includes eight European-based players, but have not been in top form. They will be expected to get return to winning ways though.