Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Coach Felix Sanchez has set his sights on securing a berth at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August as Qatar prepare to kick-off their AFC U23 Championship campaign against China on Tuesdayevening.
The top three finishers at the AFC U23 Championship will earn places in Brazil in the summer, and Qatar are hoping to seal a third appearance at the Olympics finals after qualifying in 1984 and 1992.
Qatar begin their tilt for the title at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium against Fu Bo’s China in Group A, which will also see Iran take on Syria on the opening day of the championship.
“Of course we need to go step-by-step, game-by-game, because every game is going to be different and they will be very important,” said the Spanish coach, who led Qatar to the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship title.
“We are going to try to do well in each of them, with the final target to be in the Olympic Games.”
With a squad featuring several of the players who won the AFC U-19 Championship title – including Belgium-based Akram Afif, who scored the winning goal in the final – Qatar will be among the favourites to claim the crown, but Sanchez knows his team will face a challenge against China.
“We expect the first game to be a very important game, we have to start well in the competition and we will play against a well organised and quality team,” added Sanchez.
“We’re going to try to be ready to play well, to perform well and to be successful.”
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China will be attempting to seal their first appearance at the Olympic Games since hosting the event in Beijing in 2008 and coach Fu refused to be drawn on who would be included in his starting line-up.
“We think Qatar is a very strong team, but we will prepare well for this game and hopefully we can get a good result,” said Fu, who previously served as the caretaker coach of the senior national team.
“For this tournament we registered 23 players and any 11 players is our best line-up for sure. Our players do feel some pressure, but our coaches will try to relieve that pressure as we get prepared for the game because it’s really important.”
Iran, meanwhile, will take on Syria at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in the tournament’s opening game, with coach Mohammad Khakpour taking aim not only at a place in Rio de Janeiro, but with high hopes of claiming the country’s first-ever AFC U23 Championship.
“We are ready for this tournament,” said the former Iran national team defender and FIFA World Cup star.
“I’m really proud to have 23 players who are willing to die and sacrifice for their country and do their best for their people and country.
“Our target is not just to qualify for the Olympics; we are looking at being champions for this tournament. We are looking for first place and hopefully we can achieve that.
“We have been working so hard to perform well because the audience has to enjoy the game and enjoy seeing the next stars of Asian football.”
Syria’s preparations have been hampered by the ongoing security issues at home, but coach Muhannad Al Fakeer is confident his team can make a strong start against an Iran team his side lost 2-0 to in a friendly late last year.
“We know this is a first match in this competition and we know it’s important and we know many things about the Iran team,” said Al Fakeer. “Iran will be very different to what we saw two months ago here in Qatar.
“We know the Iran team have a good team, good fitness, very strong players, speed. It will be a very tough match, but we believe it will be the passport to qualify for the next stage. We wish to get a good result against them.”