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Imperative Qatar win China clash: Metsu

Qatar coach Bruno Metsu admitted on Tuesday that it was imperative his team win their Asian Cup clash with China to keep the reputation of the 2022 World Cup hosts intact.

The veteran also knows his job could be on the line, with failure on home turf not likely to be tolerated.

The Asian Cup is renowned for coaches being fired midway through the tournament, with Saudi Arabia’s Jose Peseiro the first casualty here after their opening game defeat by Syria.

The Qataris were poor in their 2-0 loss to Uzbekistan on Friday, when they succumbed to the pressure of playing in front of 37,000 home fans and a host of top-level dignitaries, including FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

“It is imperative we win,” said Metsu of the China test at Khalifa Stadium on Wednesday.

“Today we still have a trump card to play, but if we lose we won’t have any cards left.

“The China team is an excellent team, very well organised and not easy to unsettle. We will use every tool we have to win the match.”

Qatar’s performance against the Uzbeks was strewn with errors and Frenchman Metsu refused to reveal what tactics he would use to tame China, who won their opener against Kuwait 2-0.

“I won’t reveal today how we will prepare our team because the Chinese press are here,” he said.

“The Chinese are very well-organised, so if I reveal things now they will be able to react. We’ll also have to see how things go in training.”

Making matters worse is the fact that one of their better players in the Uzbek game, Brazil-born midfielder Fabio Cesar, is a doubt for Wednesday’s Group A match.

“We also have Fabio, who is ill and might not be able to play, so we might have to change the system,” said Metsu, who will once agains be relying heavily on players such as attacking midfielder Hussain Yasser.

China coach Gao Hongbo is not underestimating the host nation, but said all 23 of his players were fit and raring to go.

“Before we came here we had a clear target, which was to let more players experience the Asian Cup and test themselves,” he said of his young squad, which he is building for a tilt at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

“We changed some starting players. I still think Wednesday’s match will be perfect. Qatar have a good team, and many good players, but we will try our best.”

China, perennial underachievers in Asia, have a squad here with an average age of just 24 — the youngest in the history of the national side.

Their defeat of Kuwait on Saturday puts them in a strong position to reach the knockout phase and helps ease the embarrassment of their group-stage elimination in 2007.

Gao said none of the squad could be guaranteed a starting place.

“For our 23 players, there are no first-choice or second-choice players. All the players are part of my plan,” he said.

“I have to repeat my words from the last press conference: the Chinese team is never afraid of any team, so my plans and my ideas won’t be affected by how Qatar play.”

Yu Tao, one of their more experienced players, said his team’s fitness levels could come into play.

“For the stamina, this is one of our advantages. From the AFC technical report, we saw that the distance covered by our team was more than the distance covered by the Kuwait team,” said the Shanghai Shenhua veteran.