Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Male: Yemen coach Ahmed Ali Qasem is confident his side can progress to the group stage of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 when they take on the Maldives in the first leg of their playoff on Thursday as his team look to break a long streak of disappointing form.
The Yemenis have won just once in the last 10 games – a 1-0 victory over the Philippines in the earlier stage of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup – but Qasem believes his squad is well enough prepared to secure a first leg advantage.
“We started our preparation five weeks back and we had some good time,” said Qasem (pictured right). “We hope that we can get a good result against the Maldives and qualify for the next round.
“When we played our last game in the group we played very well and our group was tough when compared to the teams who played against Maldives. We will play very carefully as we are going to play an away game. So we will do our best to get three points, or just a point.”
Earlier this year, Yemen finished bottom of a group that featured Uzbekistan, Bahrain, DPR Korea and the Philippines with the national team forced to play their home matches in neutral venues due to the security situation in their country.
As a result, the second leg of their meeting with the Maldives will be played in the Qatari capital Doha next week, and Qasem believes not playing on home soil has had a negative impact on his team’s fortunes.
“Since 2012 we cannot play a single game in our home ground due to the things happening in our country and because of that we haven’t been able to get good results,” he said. “But we are working to adapt to neutral ground and we have being training in Doha for a few weeks.”
The Maldives, meanwhile, go into the game having finished in fourth place in Group C of the second round of combined qualifying for the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup, placed ahead of Bhutan in a group that also included China, Qatar and Hong Kong.
Coach Ricki Herbert has sought to freshen up his squad for the meeting with the Yemenis as he attempts to pick up a win on home soil ahead of the second leg next week.
“We got together for a few days and did two or three training sessions and we played one friendly game against local league club Valencia,” said the New Zealander. “But I can say things are changing now and things will be better in the future.
“I always say that it’s good for the players to play these kinds of international games and tomorrow night will be a chance for the players to play such a game.
“I have brought in some new players to the squad and I know the players and I know their potential so I know they are giving a good fight for the senior players.”