Qatar's Spanish coach Felix Sanchez (right) and Qatar's defender Ismaiel Mohammed pose for a photograph ahead of a press conference at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) in Doha on November 24, 2022, on the eve of the Qatar 2022 World Cup football match between Qatar and Senegal. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
Hosts Qatar are hoping the worst is behind them as they face Senegal in their crucial World Cup clash at the Al Thumama Stadium today.
The Asian champions failed to impress on their debut match with dominant Ecuador blanking the listless hosts 2-0 in the opening match.
After becoming the first home team to lose their opening match of the World Cup, Qatar face a challenge to avoid becoming the second host nation in history to make a first round exit after South Africa in 2010.
South Africa crashed out of the first stage but they were alive in the tournament till their final group match. A defeat today would end Qatar’s chances of reaching the knockout stage in just their second match.
“We are keen to avoid that,” Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez told reporters at a press conference yesterday.
“We usually say that you learn from mistakes. Let’s hope that we’ve freed ourselves from all this pressure or tension that was there on the first day.”
“I hope we can compete and bring our ‘A Game’ and show that we can be more competitive than we were the other day. Matches are controlled by many factors, but the most important thing is to give our best, in the World Cup if you don’t give your best you will be punished.”
Qatar are up against the reigning African champions, who on paper are more dangerous than Ecuador. Despite missing Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane, Senegal boast players from top leagues in England, Spain, Italy and France.
The Asian champions have a good record against African teams, winning five games while losing three in their 13 international matches. But this is the first time that Al Annabi will face the Lions of Teranga in an international fixture.
“We are playing a very high-level team so we need to prove ourselves. Senegal from my perspective played an excellent game against a big team [Netherlands]. It was an open game which could have won by any team,” Sanchez added.
Sitting alongside Sanchez, defender Ismaeel Mohammed said Qatar was taking inspiration from rest of the three Arab countries, who were impressive in their opening matches.
“Arab sides are motivating us do well. We are focused and we are looking to be at our best tomorrow. We still have a chance to clear this first stage,” he said.
Saudi Arabia started their campaign with arguably the biggest upset in World Cup history beating Argentina while Tunisia and Morocco played out goalless draws against Denmark and Croatia respectively.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse
Senegal lost to the Netherlands after conceding late goals in their opening match, with coach Aliou Cisse saying his team will enter the game with mentality of “warriors”.
“We will give everything to continue with the dream and to let the Senegalese people dream. We don’t want to disappoint the Senegalese population. What is certain is that the behaviour and mentality tomorrow will be that of warriors,” Cisse told reporters yesterday.
“We are talking about two continental champions who are playing together. Both teams are coming off losses and both need to win. But we are calm and we will enter this match with a cool head,” he said.
The coach also backed goalkeeper Edouard Mendy after his shaky performance against the Netherlands.
Senegal’s players including goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (centre) take part in a training session at Duhail SC yesterday.
"Edouard is doing very well, he has got a steely resolve,” said Cisse. “Edouard’s qualities speak for themselves, I don’t think that anyone is doubting him, sometimes he has highs, sometimes he has lows, he has my full trust, my blind trust, and that of his team-mates.”
Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly said Mane, who was ruled out of the tournament after failing to recover from a leg injury, is in touch with the team.
“Even if he is not with us today in Qatar, he is speaking with all the players and this is really important for us,” Koulibaly said.
“We know the importance that he has for the team. This is the good spirit, the good mentality, because we need it, and we hope that he will continue to be behind us,” he said.
The Netherlands and Ecuador, who won their opening matches, will square off in other Group A match at Khalifa International Stadium today.
When: Today at 4:00pm
Where: Al Thumama Stadium (Capacity: 40,000)
Key stats:
- Both teams lost their first game, with Qatar falling 2-0 to Ecuador for the first ever loss by a host country in the opening match and Senegal to Netherlands by the same score.
- The game in Al Thumama stadium will be a meeting between the current Asian and African champions.
- Regional governing bodies CAF and the AFC have previously organised two intercontinental tournaments together, one for the continents’ club sides and the other for national teams.
- Senegal shocked the world by reaching the quarter-finals 20 years ago on their first World Cup appearance in Japan and South Korea. A 16-year wait to return to the finals followed but at Russia 2018 their hearts were broken as they were eliminated in the group stage by Japan on a fair play tiebreaker.
- Qatar hope to avoid becoming only the second World Cup hosts to be eliminated in the first round at the finals after South Africa in 2010.
Previous meetings:
This will be the first meeting between the two sides.
