Gulf Times
Qatar’s coach Felix Sanchez said he was proud of his team, which won two matches and drew one in their European Zone Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2022.
Qatar are playing in the tournament as a guest nation as they prepare for next year's World Cup at home, with their matches considered friendly. On Tuesday night they came back from a goal down to hold higher-ranked Republic of Ireland 1-1 at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary.
In their earlier two matches, the Asian champions had beaten Luxembourg 1-0 and Azerbaijan 2-1. Qatar will return in September to take on European champions Portugal and Serbia – the two other teams in Group A.
Qatar players were put under stern test by Ireland, but passed out with flying colours and could have won the game with a bit of luck. Ireland took the lead in the fourth minute through James McClean’s deflected strike but Mohamed Muntari levelled for a lively Qatar side with a fine finish early in the second half. Muntari and Ireland substitutes Callum Robinson and Josh Cullen all spurned chances to score a late winner.
Sanchez was pleased with his players’ performance and believed the matches against European teams will benefit Qatar ahead of the home World Cup next year. “Against Ireland, we faced a very strong team, especially physically. We were behind a goal after just three minutes but our players kept their spirits high and were determined to come back into the match. We played at a good level throughout.
I can say that we played to win especially in the second half and put pressure on Ireland, who have many players playing in the English Premier League,” the Spaniard said.
Sanchez did not single out any single players for praise but lauded the team spirit. “All the players put on a good performance. The team as a whole made us proud. Playing against these teams in these conditions is never easy and this is precisely why I am delighted. These three matches have helped us immensely,” the Qatar coach said.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb said Qatar played a good match against a strong Ireland side but felt the team could have won the match. “We came out with a draw but we could have won the match after creating many opportunities. We have achieved many benefits from our historic participation in the European qualifiers and played very well in the three matches,” he said.
“In earlier times, Qatar would not recover well after going a goal behind. But at the moment our mentality is strong and we proved this in the European qualifiers. We also beat Azerbaijan after they scored first,” he added.
"I can say that Qatar has reached a very good stage of preparation for the World Cup. We want to prove to everyone that we are properly prepared for the World Cup and are a team that competes with full strength against all teams," al-Sheeb said.
Qatar defender Tariq Salman said: “We performed beautifully against a strong team that includes many good players. We made a few mistakes in the beginning but settled into the game thereafter. We controlled the game and created many opportunities.”
The Group A game was originally scheduled to take place in Ireland, but the two teams agreed to reverse the order of their fixtures because of the Irish government's Covid-19 quarantine rules.
For Ireland they have now failed to win in 11 games since Stephen Kenny took charge, drawing five and losing six. It is the worst start by an Ireland manager since Mick Meagan failed to win any of his 12 games in charge between 1969 and 1971.