Doha: Qatar coach Felix Sanchez stressed his side’s perfect record in the group stages of the AFC U23 Championship will count for little as the tournament hosts prepare to take on DPR Korea in the quarter-finals today.
Sanchez’s side notched impressive wins over China, Iran and Syria to finish on top of Group A with a maximum nine points.
But despite DPR Korea only scraping into the last eight as runners-up in Group B after picking up two points from their three games, Sanchez is only focused on steering Qatar into the next round.
“We start the quarter-finals now, so there is no time for mistakes,” said Spanish coach Sanchez, who will be without Moez Ali due to suspension.
“At this time it doesn’t matter how many points we had in the first round because it’s only one game.”
Qatar are the top scorers in the tournament with nine goals in three games, with both Abdelkarim Hassan and Ahmed Alaa scoring four goals each to lead the scorers’ chart. “The first round is already finished and I think we did quite well. We got three points in each game, each game was different and we preformed quite well,” added Sanchez.
“We have what is going to be a very tough game because DPR Korea have a team that deserves to be in this round. They have a lot of strength in the team and we are going to try to play a good game, to perform well and get into the next round.
“We know we have in front of us a really good team, so our objective is only to think about this game and after that we will see what is the next step.”
DPR Korea, meanwhile, qualified for the last eight of the competition after finishing in a three-way tie in Group B alongside Saudi Arabia and Thailand, advancing thanks to having scored more goals to keep their hopes of a first appearance at the Olympic Games since 1976 alive.
“After qualifying from the group stage to the quarter-final, we have to face Qatar, the host,” said DPR Korea coach Yun Jong-su , who will be without Ri Il-jin due to suspension.
“It’s going to be a very, very tough match so we have to put all of our effort into the next match. The players will have to do their best and it’s going to be a very interesting match.
“If we are to qualify for the Olympics it’s going to be the first time in 40 years, so we’ll do our best.
“The strength of our team is the team work, because football is about team work. We will focus mainly on our team spirit and also on the team’s mentality and physical condition, so in the next match we will have to do our very best.”
Meanwhile, Iran coach Mohammad Khakpour said collective strength will make Japan a difficult team to beat as his team prepare to take on the East Asian giants in the quarter-finals today.
Japan, who are aiming to qualify for a sixth straight Olympic Games in Brazil later this year, won Group B with a 100% record to advance to the last eight with Makoto Teguramori making full use of his squad having made 10 changes for Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia.
Iran claimed second spot in Group A behind tournament hosts Qatar, with Khakpour also rotating his squad over their three games.
“The games are so close to each other, the teams have to use whatever players they have to manage their energy, but what I see of the Japan team there are 23 players very close to each other,” said the Iran coach while talking to reporters.
“They follow the rules and play the same way, so there’s not much difference between them. Whoever will play will do the role they’re given to them and that’s the good thing for Japan.
“The hard thing about playing the Japan team is they don’t have a star, they have a team. They play together as a team and that’s the great thing about them.
“We have to watch them all because they don’t have one player to mark who can change the game. They are really hard workers and I believe it’s going to be a very tough game tomorrow.”
Iran are aiming to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time since 1976 and have lost just once in the tournament so far, slipping to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Qatar, which came between wins over Syria and China.
The Penisnula
