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674595
Mon, 01/08/2024 - 16:05
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http://m.oananews.org//node/674595
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AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023/ Qatari Legend Khalid Salman to QNA: National Team in Front of Historic Opportunity to Win Second Title
Doha, January 08 (QNA) - Qatari Legend and former footballer of the national football team Khalid Salman emphasized that the Qatari team are in front of a historic opportunity to win the second title in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 tournament. The Qatari team will embark on competing in the first confrontations by facing their Lebanese counterpart on Jan. 12 within Group A that includes China and Tajikistan. In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Salman said the Qatari football team will garner a massive crowd of fans in this mission after the team preserved the title, they won in 2019. Salman, who played in the team during 1981-1991 and participated in numerous Gulf tournaments, as well as regional, Arab and global contests, said Qatar acquired global reputation after organizing a series of major sports events, primarily the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament which underscores a massive expertise at all levels in providing the tools of success in this continental saga, offering an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the aptitude and capability of Qatar, he underlined. Hosting the AFC Asian Cup at the tournament stadiums will give the competition a special dimension, since the same stadiums witnessed a considerable shining of global football stars in the past world cup, Salman noted. He stressed that the Qatari team must be fully ready whether psychologically, mentally, or physically as they enter these contests while holding the previous title and play in front of their fans at the same stadiums that hosted them during the world cup, affirming that the Qatari team internalized the expertise in contending with major teams as the saga represents a great honor for all players. The adjustments made at the scope of the team are in favor of them, he confirmed, especially after hiring the Spanish coach Marquez Lopez who succeeded the Portuguese Carlos Queiroz. He highlighted that the former coach Queiroz solely focused on the defensive aspects which is something difficult for the Qatari footballers who played 10 games under his leadership culminating in winning 5 matches and losing another five games. The Qatari Legend Khalid Salman called for supporting Marquez Lopez who shortly resumed his duties, adding that he is definitely impressed of the ingenuity and capability of Lopez to lead the team to the hopeful milestone, indicating that there are many teams that are nominated to win the title, such as Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, but all odds are possible for the emergence of teams that might strikingly shine in this tournament, he said.
In his interview with QNA, Khalid Salman said that the national team can appear in their best despite the difficult task in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, given that they are playing on their home soil and in front of their home fans, hoping that the national team will succeed in presenting a level befitting the defending champion. He noted that the opening match against Lebanon is very important, and the advantage of the Qatari team is clear given the differences between the two teams recently. Regarding his participations, Khalid Salman pointed out that he played in the 1984 Asian Cup in Singapore, as well as in the 1988 edition in Doha, in which he scored two goals against South Korea in the group stage in his first match after returning from injury. Salman played in the 1988 edition with a number of Qatari football stars, led by top scorer Mansour Muftah, who scored one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament against the UAE team. The tournament also saw the presence of a number of Gulf football stars Emirati Adnan Al Taliani and Fahd Khamis, and Syrian football star Abdul Qader Kurdghli, who was one of the most prominent stars of the tournament. He said that his participation in the 1988 edition was still present in his mind, recalling the wonderful feelings that overwhelmed him in front of the large crowds supporting the team. Khalid Salman succeeded in winning many championships with Al-Sadd Club, the most notable of which was winning the Asian Club Championship title in 1989 under the leadership of the late coach Obaid Juma and scoring the winning goal for Al-Sadd Club in the final in a return game against Iraqi Al-Rasheed team allowing Al Sadd to claim the title for the first time in its history and become the first Arab team to win the championship. Salman participated with the Qatari youth team that won runner-up in the 1981 World Cup in Australia, during which he scored three goals against the Brazilian national team. He was part of the Olympic team's delegation at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, United States of America. During this tournament, he scored two goals against the French national team. (QNA)
