Qatar players during a training session ahead of their Round of 16 clash against Palestine.
Doha, Qatar: Coach Marquez Lopez has said Qatar must maintain their fine run at the AFC Asian Cup as he warned the defending champions against making errors in their last 16 match against a determined Palestine side at Al Bayt Stadium tonight.
The hosts started their title defence with three consecutive victories without conceding a goal, but they are up against a side which has nothing to lose after achieving its main target of reaching the knockout stage for first time.
Palestine players during a training session.
Makram Daboub’s Palestine will return to action after an impressive performance in the group stage, outclassing Hong Kong 3-0 to earn their maiden victory in the Asian Cup in their third appearance and advance as third-placed side from their group.
“We see Palestine as a team that plays with bravery and power. We know their strengths and we will do our best to deal with them. We have a lot of respect for them as a team, but we want to do everything to get the result,” Lopez told a press conference yesterday.
“There are no easy games in football, especially in tournaments like this. We are aware that the margin of error is very small in the finals,” the coach added.
Marquez Lopez, Qatar coach
The 2019 champions started their campaign with a 3-0 victory over Lebanon before beating Tajikistan and China with identical 1-0 score-lines. The hosts have been impressive both in defence and attack with playmaker Akram Afif enjoying a sublime form, scoring three goals and creating several scoring opportunities.
“We are happy with how we have played in the group stage. We were very competitive in every game, there are small changes to make and improve on, but overall, we played well and tried to give all players an opportunity to play,” Lopez, who took charge from coach Carlos Queiroz last month said.
“I love attacking football, but we always have to find the right balance between attack and defence. It is to the credit of the players that we have yet to concede a goal, because they implemented my ideas on the pitch very well, so I’m thankful for them for absorbing the ideas well and being disciplined,” he added.
Makram Daboub, Palestine coach
“I trust my players, not 100%, but 200%. I trust the work they do in training. It will be a difficult match, but we want to qualify to the next round. As always, our main principle is to take it one match at a time.”
Qatar are on a 10-match winning streak at the Asian Cup and they conceded only one goal – a strike from Japan’s Takumi Minamino in the UAE 2019 final in their 3-1 win – during the feat.
But Palestine, ranked 41 places lower than Qatar in the world, would give their best to stop Al Annabi as coach Daboub reposed confidence in his spirited side, saying his team will have no pressure in the match.
“They [Qatar] are the home team and will have a lot of fans in the stadium, so there will be more pressure on them. We have already achieved our primary objective in this tournament so we will play with no pressure. We will do our best and play the same way we did in previous matches, keeping our upward trajectory. In 90 minutes of football, anything can happen,” he told reporters yesterday.
Palestine players and officials hold a team meeting during a training session.
“There is a ticket to the quarter-finals at stake. We respect Qatar as reigning champions and hosts, but that doesn’t mean we are here just to be here. We want to win and everything is possible, we want to fight for our chances and hopefully we can win,” the Palestine coach added.
Daboub expressed his delight as Palestine found back their goal-scoring form in their last group match against Hong Kong.
“We played 5-6 friendly matches before the tournament where we scored goals but also missed a lot of chances, we faced some challenges, but we are convinced with the level of work we are doing. In the qualifiers we scored a lot of goals. I would say it is just down to lack of concentration at times or bad luck, but thankfully the goals came against Hong Kong at the right time and hopefully we can continue the same way.”
The match will kick off at 7pm with the 68,895-capacity venue expected to be filled with spectators.
QATAR V PALESTINE
Advantage Qatar
Qatar are undefeated in their 10 previous matches against Palestine (W8 D2), keeping a clean sheet in each of their last five encounters. This will, however, be the first meeting between the two at the AFC Asian Cup.
Solid run
Qatar have won their last 10 AFC Asian Cup matches, the second-longest winning streak in tournament history (Islamic Republic of Iran – W13 from 1968 to 1976); though, they had never won a knockout game at the tournament prior to the 2019 edition when they clinched the trophy.
Firing on all cylinders
Palestine have scored at least one goal in each of their three games at Qatar 2023 after finding the back of the net in only one of their previous six games at the tournament.
Cross master
Palestine's Mus’ab Al Battat made more open play crosses (20) and more tackles (18) than any other player throughout the Qatar 2023 group stage.
