Al-Mannai Hails 'Successful' Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifiers

Doha, January 22 (QNA) - Qatar Football Association's head of the futsal and beach soccer committee Hamad Al-Mannai has underlined the success of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Asian Qualifiers, which is hosted at Qatar's Katara Beach between January 22-26. Speaking to QNA, Al-Mannai hailed the inauguration of the tournament, pointing to the successful organization that won praise from international and Qatari attendees alike. He added that the organizing committee is happy with the work it did during the tournament's first day, wishing that senior sports figures would attend the games so as to support the tournament throughout the remaining days. Al-Mannai said he is disappointed over the Qatar team's surprise loss to the largely unknown team of Afghanistan, noting that the Qatari players made serious errors that cost them the game. He added that the team's manager will work on avoiding these mistakes when they take on Australia tomorrow, expressing his astonishment at the performance of Afghanistan, whom he says, are the surprise package of the tournament. The Qatari official pointed to the absence of harmony among Qatari players, noting that the team lack experienced players and need long preparation periods. (QNA)