Qatar coach Jorge Fossati guides his team during a team training session. RIGHT: Qatar football players attend a training session ahead of their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying game against China today.
Qatar coach Jorge Fossati said his team will be eyeing a win against hosts China today when the two Asian sides collide in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
Qatar are in fifth spot out of six sides in Group A of the Asian Zone qualifying campaign that started in September.
Since the start of this phase more than two months ago, Qatar has played four matches winning only one against Syria last month.
The Syria clash was Fossati's second game in charge after taking over from Daniel Carreno who was fired after Qatar lost to Iran and Uzbekistan inside six days at the start of September.
"We seek to get points from this game. That’s important to us since we want to continue with our qualifying campaign," Fossati said.
"We are hopeful about our chances. It is a litmus test for my team that has undertaken hard work in the lead-up to this game," he said.
"Qualifying for the 2018 World Cup is not impossible. We need not look at the history. We have to look at the present scenario and doing that tells me I have confidence in my players.
"I am confident that we will return with three points from this game," Fossati said.
"That (a win) will boost our confidence in a major way. There’s so much of football to be played and so many equations could come into play.
"The results of other games are also important for the competing teams in this qualifying phase.
"We must build on our Syria win (last qualifying fixture before today’s clash). I repeat I am confident about the players but they should play coordinated football," he said.
"We are very focused on what we have to against China. We will face challenges but we have a strategy to achieve our target," Fossati said before leaving with the squad for China.
"China is a strong side. We are aiming to show our complete readiness. The game against Russia was tough but it prepared us well for this clash," he added.
Before flying out of Doha on Friday, Qatar on Thursday beat Russia 2-1 in an international friendly as home fans celebrated a change in mood ahead of the November 15 clash.
"Although playing against Russia was not my decision but it was a friendly game that was good. We tried to optimise our chances by getting everyone on the field," Fossati said.
China, coached by famous Italian Marcello Lippi, are without a win out of 4 qualifying games
"Lippi is a seasoned hand with a lot of experience. He knows the kind of football China play," Fossati said when asked about Lippi as a coach.
"I do not have a personal challenge with Lippi. I am in no doubt that this game will be very strong and tough. I really don’t care what other coaches say before a game," he added.
In an interview with www.fifa.com, Lippi said China must win back their fans.
"It is important to restore the team's confidence,” Lippi, who took over only in October, said in the interview.
"We will focus on first dealing with the Qataris and then Korea. Our chief aim is World Cup qualification.
"I hope we can achieve a miracle. But even if we fail to make it, we should make sure that the team make good progress in the process and build for the future. Then we will switch our focus to the next Asian Cup," he said.
"The key for us is to play well against Qatar," he said.
Iran are leading Group A with 10 points followed by Uzbekistan with a tally of 9. Korea (7) are in third place followed by Syria (4).
Sixth-placed China have one point from 4 matches.
Today's clash will be played at Tuodong Stadium in Kunming.
