AFC
Doha
Qatar will once again go all out to secure three points at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday when they face Jordan in their second Group A encounter at the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, according to head coach Ilidio Vale.
Following their 2-0 win against Indonesia on Monday in the opening match, a second consecutive success at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium will see the hosts become the first side to seal their place in the Knockout Stage and their third appearance in the last eight.
While Vale cautioned against taking their opponents lightly, the Portuguese declared that his team heads into every match aiming for nothing less than victory.
“Naturally, before starting this competition, we knew that it would be difficult to qualify from this group,” the 66-year-old said. “We expect another difficult game for Qatar (but) there is a slogan for our team, which is to ‘win and nothing but the win’.”
Jordan, who were held to a goalless draw in their first match on Monday against Australia, will have their task made more difficult by the suspension of captain Danial Afaneh after the centre-back was sent off in that game.
Head coach Abdallah Abu Zema, however, played down any concerns over his captain’s unavailability and called on his charges to reset their mentality for their first ever encounter against Qatar in tournament history.
“When we announced our squad of players (for this tournament), of course we already had in mind an alternative player for everyone… and thankfully, we also have someone to replace Danial,” the 48-year-old said.
“The game against Qatar has its own circumstances, tactics, decisions and different instructions to be taken. We have played Australia and we are going to forget that - it is done and we got the point we needed.
“We look forward to our game against Qatar in a very serious manner and hope it will take us one step closer to the knockout stage. However, let’s not forget that the Qatari team is playing on their own turf, in their own country and amongst their own people and they are a very good team. This is something to be taken into consideration but we will be getting ready and hoping for the best.”
Named the Most Valuable Player in their opening match, midfielder Jassem Gaber is aiming to turn in another commanding display and vowed that Qatar will improve as their campaign progresses.
“We are taking it step by step in this tournament and we have just finished the first step,” said the 22-year-old, who has already been capped at senior level and scored at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. “But mainly, we will focus on our coach’s instructions, and be even better in the next game.”
