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DPA
Abu Dhabi
Qatar’s young squad are preparing to face Iraq in the knock-out stages of the Asian Cup on Tuesday but the home World Cup of 2022 remains ever present in their thoughts.
Eleven of coach Felix Sanchez’s party in the UAE are under the age of 23 as the Gulf State looks to develop talent for the challenge ahead.
“We need to be patient for these players,” 31-year-old midfielder Ali Afif said Monday ahead of the last 16 game in Abu Dhabi. “I am very
optimistic, I believe they will have brilliant futures.
“They have proved in these games they have good performances and I hope they will make Qatari football very proud in 2022.”
Forward Almoez Ali has stolen the headlines with a leading seven goals so far while Akram Afif has provided several assists – both are 22 and seem destined for greater things than the Qatar league where they currently ply their trade.
“Akram is young but he is old in his mind, everyone knows him in Asia and now in Europe,” Afif said.
Qatar had never qualified for the World Cup before being awarded the tournament as hosts and even at the Asian Cup success has previously been limited.
Under Sanchez a youthful squad crushed Group E with three wins, including over powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has not yet conceded a goal. But he was quick to play down the past, no matter how recent.
“We’re going to try to play a good game, we know in front of us we have a very tough opponent but the team is confident and we’ll try our best to have a good result,” he said.
“All the teams are in the same position, it doesn’t matter what you do in the first stage, it’s like a final.”
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22/01/2019
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