Alkass Digital
Tajikistan may have sealed knockout stage qualification in their debut AFC Asian Cup™ campaign but head coach Petar Segrt said the Central Asian side are not satisfied just yet.
If anything, advancing to the Round of 16 has made Tajikistan even hungrier and, more importantly, placed them on an equal footing with the United Arab Emirates - who they meet on Sunday.
“The buzz around our historic win is now a thing of the past and I don’t want the players to feel that kind of pressure with every match,” said Segrt.
“Now, we are no longer a lesser team and whether our match against the UAE lasts 90 minutes or 120, I have full faith in my team and know they’re going to give their best.”
The Croatian said Tajikistan will face the UAE confident of winning, having played to a goalless draw with the 1996 AFC Asian Cup runners-up last year.
“We met UAE not so long ago and held them to a 0-0 game, but that was a friendly and they’ve changed a lot since then. However, the same holds true for Tajikistan. We will fight till the last minute and make the time away from our families count.
“We have had some minor setbacks with the team, with some small injuries and cautions but the UAE are not without trouble either. I can say with conviction that we have a 50-50 chance of reaching the quarter-finals.”
UAE head coach Paulo Bento acknowledged the threat posed by the Crowns and agreed with Segrt on the two teams being equally capable of achieving victory.
“It would be a big mistake to take Tajikistan lightly after all they have done in the competition so far,” said Bento. “They are very good at building their game from the back and have also displayed a good offensive approach, so I’m certain that they will demand a lot from our team.
“We are at the stage of the competition where we don’t get a do-over and thus, we are going to have to avoid giving into Tajikistan’s strong points. We are not considering ourselves favourites and will need to perfect several aspects of our game to come out superior.”
Tajikistan v United Arab Emirates
Kick-off: 19:00 (UTC+3)
Venue:Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (Al Rayyan)