BASRAH, Iraq: The maroons have started their preparations for their match against their Emirati counterpart on Friday at Al Minaa Stadium in the Iraqi city of Basra. This match is part of the third round of the group stage of the Arabian Gulf Cup’s Group B.
Bruno Miguel Pinheiro, oversaw the final pre-match training session at the Basra International Stadium, where the players worked on correcting their errors from the previous game against Bahrain and preparing their strategies for the upcoming match against the United Arab Emirates.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, the Portuguese refused to judge the UAE based on the outcome of their previous group matches—two defeats to Bahrain and Kuwait, respectively—citing how competitive they were as a side despite the two defeats. He was quoted as saying, “The UAE are a very good side; I don’t think the results they got in the previous matches reflect the quality of the team. Both games were highly competitive, evenly contested, and could have gone either way, but they lost by a one-goal margin on both occasions”.
Qatar is looking to bounce back from a 1-2 defeat to Bahrain in the second round of group play on Tuesday and subsequently advance to the tournament’s semifinals.
“An important match awaits us against a difficult opponent, but I have great confidence in the players and their abilities.” He then continued, “Our defeat to Bahrain was due to a combination of bad luck and loss of focus. We were in control for the most part; however, we conceded both goals while we were dominant; none of the goals were the result of open play; it was always the second ball after a set piece. In the first goal, the ball would end up in the goalkeeper’s hands, but it took an unlucky deflection to end up at the back of the net.”
He also emphasized how important it was for the players to participate in this tournament to gain valuable experience.
“Our focus was for our players to recover physically, nowadays players are more intelligent and savvy, and using video illustration helps point out our errors with the goal of correcting them, our spirits are high ahead of facing the UAE, I hope fortune will favor us in tomorrow’s match, and we will try to show our character, to achieve victory, and hopefully advance further in the tournament,” he continued.
Source: Qatar Football Association