TASHKENT, Uzbekistan: Coach Nicolas Cordova on Tuesday said his team deserved to win against Turkmenistan in their AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifier.
Despite a lead of 2-0, Qatar conceded two late goals as the match at Bunyodkar Stadium on Tuesday ended in a 2-2 draw.
“What happened in the tournament is strange, but we all bear responsibility for the early exit,” Cordova said.
“We are sad that we drew the match. We deserved to win. My team played a great match, but unfortunately, we failed to keep our lead and finish the job,” Cordova said.
“It is difficult to talk about everything now. ‘We must study and analyze our mistakes and the reasons for this level of play and talk about why we went out of the tournament.
“What happened today was strange. We enjoyed a comfortable lead in two games, but we quickly lost the lead.
“In the last match, we were the best side and were two goals up until the 75th minute, and then we conceded two consecutive goals,” he said.
“Football is a team game, and it is difficult to blame for the loss and elimination from the tournament on a particular individual. Everyone in the team bears the responsibility, and I am at the forefront of them. We hope that we will be better in the future,” he added.
The coach expressed his deep regret for the draw and early exit from the tournament.
He said: “We controlled the match and were clearly superior throughout the night and scored two goals, but unfortunately, we could not keep the result. This is what happens when you do not take advantage of opportunities and lose concentration at any point of a match’.
“We have to correct the situation and do better in future events. This is a learning curve; hopefully, we will absorb the lessons from this tournament even though it was a letdown. There is no doubt that the early exit makes us feel very sad, and we apologize to the fans.”
Turkmenistan came from two goals down to force a 2-2 draw against Qatar in Group A to seal a historic AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2022 quarter-final ticket at the Bunyodkor Stadium on Tuesday.
With Islamic Republic of Iran only managing a 1-1 draw with Group A winners Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan finished second on four points and will face Group B’s top side Australia in the quarter-finals.
Source: Qatar Football Association