Doha: Asian champions Qatar will go into the FIFA Arab Cup quarter-finals against the United Arab Emirates tonight as hot favourites, but head coach Felix Sanchez believes the hosts will have to earn a win in the Gulf derby that will not be a walk in the park.
The home team entered the knockout stage after winning three consecutive matches in Group A, and with both the history and fans support on their side, Al Annabi have been seen as comfortable winners of the match to be played at the 60,000-seater Al Bayt Stadium, which is expected to be a full house.
In the previous two encounters between the Gulf rivals, Qatar ended victorious on both occasions, beating the UAE in the Asian Cup semi-final 4-0 and in the Gulf Cup 4-2 in 2019.
“The past results don’t give you guarantee for matches in the future. The past doesn’t mean anything to us,” Sanchez stressed at a pre-match press conference yesterday, as he shrugged off the favourites tag.
“It is going to be a different match and a different scenario. The Emirates team will play to win and we will do the same. We need to show tomorrow [today] that we deserve to be in the next round,” the Spaniard added.
Qatar are the only side besides Morocco to finish the group stage with a 100 percent record after wins over Bahrain (1-0), Oman (2-1) and Iraq (3-0), but the coach said today’s match will be a new challenge for his side.
“I think we were in a difficult group which was even. The teams, which were from our region, have always been difficult. Taking three victories from that group means a lot,” he said, before adding the players will have to raise the bar in the knockout stage.
“The group results mean nothing now as we are in the knockout stage. Only, the winning team will be through. I hope we will show an improved performance in the next stage,” he said.
The Qatar coach played down talks of an added pressure on his team to win in front of home fans.
“Fans only give us motivation to do better. Their support is very important for us but at the end of the day we will have to do our work to win the match.”
To a query, Sanchez said his players were itching to have a go and fatigue is not a matter of concern for them.
“Every member of the team wants to reach far in the tournament. The players will do their maximum and fatigue doesn’t matter at this stage,” he said.
Qatar player Homam Ahmed, meanwhile, said the team is fully focused on the match with an aim to achieve victory.
“UAE national team is strong and we respect them. Hopefully, we will give our best in front of our fans. The match will not be easy because this UAE team is different,” the Al Gharafa defender said.
Meanwhile, UAE coach Bert van Marwijk expected Qatar to be tough but said he “likes challenges”.
“I am looking forward to this game. I hope it will be a full stadium with fans supporting their home side. It will be a great experience for my team,” the Dutchman said yesterday.
“Qatar have a very long preparation and they have played all over the world. Most of my players haven’t played a tournament like this one. It will be a very difficult match but I like difficult games. I hope my players will find a solution,” he said.
The 69-year-old added he didn’t plan special preparation for the team ahead of Qatar clash.
“We give our best in preparations before all our matches, which we try to win,” said Van Marwijk.
UAE player Abdullah Ramadan hoped the team will pull off an upset against the Asian champions.
“It is a big match of an important tournament for us. We evaluated the opponents very well and hopefully we will be able to win the match,” he said.
UAE finished Group B as runners-up behind Tunisia with 6 points after wins over Syria and Mauritania.
