Qatar coach Marquez Lopez speaks to his players during a training session ahead of the semi-final against Iran. Photo by: Mohammed Faraj/The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Defending champions Qatar will take on buoyant Iran with “big motivation” at Al Thumama Stadium as they aim for their second consecutive AFC Asian Cup title clash.
Iran – ranked 37 positions higher than 58-ranked Qatar - may be favourites but the in-form hosts are eyeing a victory against Team Melli to book Saturday's title showdown against Jordan.
Both sides have been phenomenal in the tournament with Iran knocking pre-tournament favourites Japan out of the Asian Cup with a 2-1 comeback victory in the quarter-final.
Qatar, backed by passionate home fans, have won all their five matches in their title defence with head coach Marquez Lopez saying the team will do its best to reach the final.
Marquez Lopez, Qatar coach
“Of course we will enter this match with big motivation. We are one step away from the final and we know we have a chance to reach a second straight final which is a big driving factor for us,” the Spaniard told a pre-match press conference yesterday.
But Lopez is aware his team faces an uphill task against Iran, who were victorious in all of last six matches between the two sides including a 1-0 win in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 group stage.
“We recognise that it’s going to be a very tough match. It’s our sixth game in a short period, so that will be physically demanding but we are still hopeful of a good performance,” the Qatar coach said.
Iran players during a training session.
“Iran are a very strong team. We have not underestimated any team we have played in this competition so we will not start doing that against Iran. The attack of Iran is very strong and we are aware of this. We have plans for that and we will try to minimise their quality up front,” Lopez said before adding his team will look for a win inside regulation time.
“There’s no talk about trying to take this match into penalties. We always play to win and that will be what we’ll be doing tomorrow.”
Qatar are pinning hopes on Akram Afif, Hassan Al Haydos and Almoez Ali to excel against Iran with the trio sharing eight goals in the competition. Goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham, who blocked three hits during penalty shootout win over Uzbekistan in the quarter-final, is also expected to play a key role against Iran's attack.
Meanwhile, Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei urged his players to forget about Japan win and stay focused on the semi-final against the defending champions.
Amir Ghalenoei, Iran coach
“We know that tomorrow’s match is very important. All that we did until now is to reach the final match. I told the players to forget the Japan match, what is important now is to beat Qatar and reach the final,” the Iranian coach said.
“Qatar reaching this stage means they are high quality. We cannot keep looking at the Japan result and think that will take us through.”
The three-time champions have not reached the final since their last title triumph in 1976 and Ghalenoei said his team must seize the opportunity.
“I hope we can reach our first final in almost 50 years. I have big belief in our players that they can do this. We have to be more concentrated, show more quality and cover more distance. With all that, I hope that we can reach the final for the first time in a long time,” the coach said.
Iran will be boosted by the return of Porto striker Mehdi Taremi, who was sent off in Round of 16 win over Syria. Alireza Jahanbaksh, Sardar Azmoun and Saman Ghoddos will also be a threat for Qatar defence.
Iran will be determined to continue their journey towards a long-awaited fourth AFC Asian Cup title when they face Qatar in the semi-finals of the 2023 edition today.
Qatar, however, will be equally up for the task as they look to defend the title they won in resounding fashion in UAE 2019.
Impressive record
Iran have won their last six matches against Qatar, including a 1-0 win in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 group stage. Iran outscored Qatar 11-1 in those six games.
Good run
This will be Iran’s eighth AFC Asian Cup semi-final, the joint-highest with South Korea.
Semi-final win overdue
Team Melli, however, have not progressed past the semi-final stage in their last six attempts stretching back to 1980, with Japan defeating them at this stage in the 2019 edition.
Three-time winners
Iran won three consecutive editions between 1968 and 1976, a feat which no other team has managed. A fourth title will draw them level with Japan at the top of the all-time list.
Elite list
Qatar are the ninth team to reach the semi-finals of AFC Asian Cup in two consecutive editions.
Always on target
Qatar have not failed to score a goal in their eight AFC Asian Cup knockout stage games.
Goal overdue
Iran’s Sardar Azmoun has failed to score in his last three appearances in the AFC Asian Cup, his longest goalless streak in the competition. He has, though, made three assists in his last three matches, two more than in his first 11 games.
Creative force
Qatar’s Akram Afif has created 3.5 chances per game when he starts in AFC Asian Cup matches (38 chances in 11 starts), more than any other player who started at least seven games since 2007.
Potent forwardlines
Both sides boast extremely powerful strikeforces with Iran set to welcome Mehdi Taremi back from suspension, with the forward expected to partner Azmoun. Qatar, meanwhile, will have Afif, Almoez Ali and Hassan Al Haydos leading their charge.
Tight backlines
Iran will head into the semi-final showdown having conceded only four goals while Qatar have been even tighter at the back, with their net only being breached twice in five matches.
