Vinay Nayudu
Doha
In what could be a head-on-contest, reigning champions Qatar face a steamrolling Iran in a challenging semi-final of AFC Asian Cup 2023 at the Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday.
Assured of an almost full house support, the Al Annabi will look to continue their fairytale on the home turf which had now stretched to twelve successive wins since the 2019 tournament in the UAE where they clinched their maiden trophy.
Qatar have shown fine form and agility in overcoming Lebanon, Tajikistan, China, Palestine, and Uzbekistan (in a dramatic penalty shootout). The hosts are clearly riding the crest of a wave but they now come across a similarly threatening team in Iran, who beat four-time winners Japan convincingly with a come-from-behind 2-1 scoreline in the quarter-final, after having edged Syria on penalties and having softened Palestine, Hong Kong and the UAE in the group stage.
Iran, the former three-time champions’ fluent show against Japan showed their resilience and attacking abilities which could push Qatar hard.
The Maroons, however, are also known for their hi-flying attacks from both flanks and also have a full squad to choose from and with Akram Afif, Hassan Al Haydos and Almoez Ali sharing eight goals in the competition. Qatar do have the arsenal to hurt Iran.
Qatar coach Marquez Lopez exuded confidence ahead of the clash, saying, “We recognise that it’s going to be a very tough match,” said Lopez. “It’s our sixth game in a short period, so that will be physically demanding but we are still hopeful of a good performance.
“Iran are a very strong team. We have not underestimated any team we have played in this competition so we will not start doing that against Iran.”
“Of course we enter this match with big motivation, we are one step away from the final. We have a chance to reach a second straight final which is a big driving factor for us.
“The attack of Iran is very strong and we are aware of this. We have plans for that and we will try to minimise their quality up front.
“There’s no talk about trying to take this match into penalties. We always play to win and that will be what we’ll be doing tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Iran are keeping their eyes on the prize as head coach Ardeshir Ghalehnoy looks to win the battle of wits against Qatar’s Lopez.
“We know that tomorrow’s match is very important. All that we did until now is to reach the final match,” said Ghalehnoy. “I told the players to forget the Japan match, what is important now is to beat Qatar and reach the final. We know they are a good team, the defending champions and have spent a lot to improve the team.
“Sometimes you have bad performances, sometimes you have good performances but we’ve only had good performances so far. Even against Japan, we didn’t concede a lot of chances.
“We may make changes for the game but the level of the team is almost the same, so the quality of the starting XI will not be affected. Tactics that we make in every match, 70%-80% are related to the strength of our team and the balance related to the opponent.”
Iran hold an impeccable recent record against Qatar, winning all six matches in all competitions dating back to 2013 but the 60-year-old tactician doesn’t want complacency setting into his team.
In fact, Ghalehnoy is demanding that his players do more than they did when they knocked Japan out as Iran look to reach their first AFC Asian Cup final since 1976.
“Qatar reaching this stage means they are high quality. We cannot keep looking at the Japan result and think that will take us through.
“We have to be more concentrated, show more quality and cover more distance. With all that, I hope that we can reach the final for the first time in a long time.
“You can see from (Mehdi) Taremi’s reaction in the last two games and see how united we are as a team and how much we want to do well in this competition.”
Taremi will be available after serving a one-match suspension, with the Porto FC forward looking to add to his three goals.
Taremi will only be one of several players Qatar will have to contain, with Team Melli also able to count on the likes of Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Sardar Azmoun and Saman Ghoddos for goals.
Both teams will have the fan force behind them, although Qatar will have little more support. The atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric and a fierce battle could stretch the game full distance.
(inputs the-afc.com)
