Former Qatar forward Adel Lami has urged the side’s current generation to embrace the responsibility of representing the nation in their first ever AFC Asian Cup semi-final, against host nation United Arab Emirates today.
Five successive wins have the West Asian nation on the brink of history, and potentially two good performances away from becoming the ninth nation to claim the Continental title.
Lami, who won 21 caps for Al Annabi from 2005 to 2014, spoke passionately about his pride for the national shirt, calling on Felix Sanchez’s players not to take their opportunities for granted.
“For me, every player who wears Qatar’s crest on his chest, is excellent and deserving,” he said.
“Every player who wears it will be capable of carrying that responsibility.”
“At the same time, my message to them is: If you wear that crest, you should know your responsibility. You should know that there are a lot of players who shed tears hoping that they would be able to wear this jersey.
“So you have been handed this opportunity and your role now is to represent the people. The same is true for other countries as well,” said Lami.
Expanding further on his own personal commitment to the Qatari cause, Lami recalled the 2007 AFC Asian Cup in Southeast Asia, where he appeared in all three of his side’s group stage matches.
Then 21 years old, he sustained an injury which would ultimately keep him out of top-level football for over a year, but even now, Lami says that extraordinarily hefty price was one worth paying.
The Qatari class of 2019 enter the semi-finals with the confidence created by what remains a perfect campaign.
Lami believes Felix Sanchez’s side is rich in talent, but maintains their real strength lies in their collective mentality.
“The current team has some excellent players,” he declared.
“What’s great about this current generation is that whichever Asian team they play against, regardless of their strength, they go into the game knowing that they are capable of defeating this team.
“They have the maturity to deal with the big and important games.”
