RIYADH: Qatar coach Djamel Belmadi yesterday said his boys were well prepared for the Gulf Cup challenge.
Qatar squad arrived in Riyadh yesterday for the November 13-26 event that begins with Al Annabi taking on hosts Saudi Arabia on Friday.
“I am quite satisfied with our preparations,” Belmadi said after his squad landed in Riyadh yesterday.
“We faced many strong teams in our build-up games. Everyone saw that the players gelled well in the practice matches,” he added.
Belmadi said his mission is to help Qatar build a strong side for all key events.
“The fans in Qatar want to see a strong side and we are working on that,” he said.
“We want to be one of the tops teams in Asia,” the Algerian added.
Qatar enjoyed a perfect build-up for the tournament as they registered four consecutive friendly wins ahead of the event, including victories against Australia and DPR Korea.
Qatar defeated Lebanon 5-0 and thrashed and Uzbekistan 3-0 in earlier friendly games before edging out Australia 1-0 and DPR Korea 3-1.“We will continue to work hard. Our aim is to be a fighting unit,” Belmadi said after his squad was received by Saudi Arabia football officials.
“The player development takes time. I have confidence in my players that they are very aware on the pitch than they were sometime back,” he said.About his side’s first match against Saudi Arabia on November 13, Belmadi said: “It won’t be an easy game since Saudi are playing at home. They have huge fan following and obviously as the home side they want to win the event,” he said. “It will be a good experience to play this game. We have important matches coming up (in the Asian Cup),” Belmadi said. “I am sure we will be playing in front of a full house at King Fahd International Stadium. We will face similar matches at the Asian Cup,” Belmadi said. “I hope our fans get behind our team and support them like they have been doing over the years.”
The team will take on Yemen on November 16 followed by their final group stage match against Bahrain on the November 19
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