Qatar Football Association
Coach Felix Sanchez on Saturday expressed satisfaction after Qatar beat Grenada 4-0 in their Group D match at CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Abdulaziz Hatem (11), Akram Afif (22), Mohammed Muntari (36) and Ahmed Ali (46) were on target as Qatar dominated ball possession at 64 per cent against Grenada.
“First, I am happy with the strong reaction of the players in our second match after we drew against Panama,” Sanchez said at a virtual press conference.
“Winning this match makes me happy. We have achieved our target. I was confident that we would do our best against Grenada,” Sanchez said.
With the win, Qatar improved to four points heading into their final group match against Honduras. Grenada will depart Houston for Orlando and look for their first Gold Cup win or draw against Panama.
With the win, Qatar improved to four points heading into their final group match against Honduras. Grenada will depart Houston for Orlando and look for their first Gold Cup win or draw against Panama.
“We played well as we controlled the match and took possession of the ball more. We created a lot of chances, scoring four goals. I am satisfied with what the players did in the match,” Sanchez said.
When asked about the injury suffered by Bualem Khoukhi and Tarek Salman, Sanchez said: “I will talk about Boualem first. He could have continued playing after suffering a slight injury at the beginning of the match, but we preferred to take him out to be present in the next decisive match against Honduras. His injury is not serious. About Tariq Salman, we are waiting for the full medical report to know the extent of the injury.”
When asked about their opponent in the quarter-finals, Qatar’s coach said: “It is too early to talk about this point because we have not yet guaranteed our path to the next round. In general, whoever qualifies from this group will play with Mexico, the most crowned in the championship. They have very skilful players and experience of playing in Europe.”
“As for the El Salvador team, which also secured promotion to the quarter-finals from our group, they also have good players. We have played against them before the start of the tournament during a friendly meeting, but as I said, I cannot talk about the next round as we have a match against Honduras yet to be played.”