The World Cup hosts’ loss against Senegal on Friday puts them on the verge of elimination from the competition, but Qatar coach Felix Sanchez insisted his team shouldn’t be labeled a “failure and disappointment” after the defeat.
Coach Felix Sanchez: Qatar shouldn’t be viewed as a failure
Qatar did manage to score a goal in the tournament after losing to Ecuador in their opener, but they went on to lose 3-1 to an African team, dropping them to the bottom of Group A with nil points.
Qatar, who is currently the Asian champion, is taking part in their inaugural World Cup.
We did play an excellent game, in my opinion. Knowing your origins before arriving is necessary (as a country). According to Sanchez, “Depending on expectations, this might be failure and disappointment.
“Being competitive was our objective… To be able to perform well, we’ve been working for a long time. But occasionally, the outcome of the game is not what you anticipate. Additionally, how the adversaries fare matters. Our performance was below par. Although we competed well, we did not become better. Qatar is in risk of being the first World Cup hosts to not win a single game, and their final matchup is against the Netherlands, who are the group’s favorite.
We understand how difficult this competition is. Although we are aware of our limits as a nation, we yet aspired to go far.
It has a small population and a small nation. The local league is not very fiercely contested. We’ve never attended a World Cup before. We would love to participate once more. Increasing your experience is always beneficial.
Sanchez disagreed when asked if the squad had come to the end of a cycle, although he did acknowledge that things may alter when they defend their Asian Cup title the following year.
We have some youthful players as well as more seasoned ones… Our aim is quite clear; there will be a generational change. Others will join in,” he predicted as some players quit.
Although some players can’t perform at their peak for an extended period of time, it’s not the end of the cycle. We could have new players in the Asian Cup the next year.