Qatar's players and officials celebrate after their 1-0 win over Mexico at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Carlos Queiroz praised his players’ “fighting spirit” after Qatar pulled off a famous victory over eight-time champions Mexico to reach the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup yesterday.
Hazem Shehata’s superb angled header from Musaab Khidir’s cross in 27th minute helped the reigning Asian champions – ranked 58th in FIFA rankings – down World No.14 Mexico, who topped Group B despite the 1-0 defeat.
Qatar, who suffered a 2-1 loss to Haiti and drew 1-1 against Honduras, finished runners-up in the group with four points ahead of Honduras on goal difference.
In a game dominated by El Tricolor, Al Annabi held their nerves and availed their only chance with a 10-yard header from Shehata while remaining vigilant in defence thwarting several attempts by the Mexicans particularly in the second half.
Head coach Queiroz said the team fought with determination in a difficult match as he dedicated the victory to late football coach Captain Saeed bin Saad Al Misnad, who passed away recently, and the Qatari fans.
“I must congratulate my players for showing attitude and great fighting spirit in the match. We would like to dedicate this win to Captain Saeed and our fans,” Queiroz said in a post match comment.
“It was a difficult game but players were fantastic throughout the match. Mexico is a great team but we did it. Qatar team has a great fighting spirit and they showed a lot of concentration. We didn’t have any other option but to win against Mexico,” he added.
The match was held in front of a huge crowd at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California with Mexican fans outnumbering Qatari supporters.
“It was amazing to score a goal in front of such a large crowd. It is huge thing for me that my goal helped Qatar beat Mexico and reach the quarter-final. We have to keep going and try to win our next matches,” said Shehata.
With Qatar achieving their first target in the tournament by reaching the knockout stage, the team is now eyeing a title. In their previous appearance as a guest side two years ago, they played the semi-final losing to eventual champions US.
“We achieved our first target of reaching the quarter-finals. We had a difficult group as can be seen from the results. The team remained determined against Mexico and won against a difficult side. We are delighted to make our fans happy. Our target is to win the title and we will give our best to achieve the task,” said Qatar midfielder Mohammed Waad.
After failing to win their first two games, Qatar were in a must-win situation against their higher ranked opponents. Young forward Tamim Mansour hoped the task would become “easier” for his side in the knockout stage.
“We proved that there is nothing impossible in football. We have achieved what we wanted from the group stage which was difficult. The next stage will be easier for us and we are looking forward to continue winning,” said Mansour, who scored in a draw against Honduras.
Qatar will play their quarter-final on July 9 (2:00am, Qatar time) while their opponents are yet to be decided.
