AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023: Former Players Confident in Team's Abilities to Reach Quarter-finals

Doha, January 27 (QNA) - The high levels and technical performance presented by Qatar team in the first round matches of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 have been praised by former players, who also expressed their confidence in the team's abilities to continue the campaign and defend the title clinched four years ago.
Despite the team's mixed performance in three matches against Lebanon, Tajikistan and China respectively, the team met expectation and succeeded in winning the three matches to deservedly top the group.
The national team competed in Group A and secured victories over Lebanon 3-0, Tajikistan 1-0, and China 1-0.
Qatar is scheduled to meet Palestine on Monday at Al-Bayt Stadium in its quest for a spot in the quarter-finals. Qatar coach Marquez Lopez is looking forward to continuing winning streaks and progressing steadily towards claiming the title.
The players unanimously stressed the importance of focusing heavily on the upcoming clash against the Palestinian team in the Round of 16 in order to continue the campaign and procced to the quarter-finals.
Securing qualification requires more tactical solutions along with the selection of the optimal squad for the match, said former Qatari player Abdulaziz Hassan.
The former player added that the three wins gave confidence to the team as well as the coach, noting that the performance of the team members, especially the duo Akram Afif and Al-Moez Ali enhanced confidence among the fans.
Underscoring the team's gains in the first round, Mohammed Mubarak Al Mohannadi, a former Qatari player, said that they included the great confidence reflected in the performance of all players, in addition to the tactical maturity in the playing system, which shows the coach's ability in understanding the capabilities of the existing team members.
Comparing current edition with that of 2019 in terms of progression and entry into the competitive atmosphere, former player Adel Khamis stressed that the progress within the competitions of the tournament is considered positive, but the players must continue the upward trend.
For his part, Raed Yaqoub, a former Qatar team and Al Arabi club player, expressed optimism about Qatar team's abilities to reach the semi-finals, stressing that their experiences enabled them to achieve this. (QNA)