Quarterfinal within reach for Qatar at Asian Cup

DOHA, Qatar - Qatar was already under pressure from its own supporters as the host nation of the 2011 Asian Cup, and now it finds the rest of the world’s football fans have suddenly taken an interest in its progress.

By (AP)

Published: Sat 15 Jan 2011, 9:18 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 7:11 PM

FIFA’s decision to award the 2022 World Cup hosting rights to Qatar was greeted by bemusement in some quarters, and the fact that it has never even played at a World Cup only gave the critics more ammunition.

Qualification for the Asian Cup quarterfinals might go some way to easing fears that Qatar will be completely out of its depth among the world’s best teams come 2022.

A 2-0 win over China in its second game means Qatar could advance for only the second time in eight appearances if it beats Kuwait on Sunday and China fails to win against Uzbekistan.

A draw might even be enough for Qatar if China loses. If both China and Qatar win, they will join the Uzbeks on six points and the group will be decided by goal difference.

Qatar coach Bruno Metsu isn’t worrying about the mathematics — yet.

“As long as we get a good result, I don’t care about the other game. My motivation is only about our game against Kuwait,” he said Saturday. “It’s better to calculate after the game, not before.”

Kuwait has lost its opening two games but also still has an outside chance of progress, leaving Metsu wary of overconfidence.

“Kuwait are very strong, and they don’t want to lose this game because they don’t want to leave the tournament without a positive result,” the former Senegal and United Arab Emirates coach said. “We need to start with the same spirit and mentality we showed against China. That’s good for the fans, immediately they support you, and we will need them tomorrow.”

Kuwait beat Qatar 1-0 on its way to winning November’s Gulf Cup, but Metsu said that game would not have a bearing on Sunday’s encounter.

“In football, you can play 10 times and 10 times it’s not the same result,” he said. “It’s not like the movies where the ending is always the same. Football is very different. You can have some mistakes, some injuries ... But before the game, everything is possible. That’s the magic of football.”

Metsu acknowledged after the 2-0 loss to the Uzbeks in Qatar’s opening game that pressure had played a part, but defender Hamid Ismael insists that won’t be a factor against Kuwait.

“The pressure was over after the first match,” he said. “The first match actually caused us to wake up and there’s no pressure now. We are very much prepared for this match.”

If Qatar is to reach the quarterfinals, it may need star striker Sebastian Soria to find his form. The 27-year-old Soria, who was born in Uruguay but has played for Qatar since 2006, has scored 22 goals in 56 games for the national side but is yet to find the net at the Asian Cup.

Metsu sought to ease the burden on Soria’s shoulders.

“The only important thing is that the team win,” Bruno said when asked about Soria’s goal drought. “The only star is the team, not one player. It’s not important who scores. If Sebastian doesn’t score a goal and we get to the final, we will be very satisfied.”