Qatar look ahead after FIFA Arab Cup adventure

Qatar players celebrate after winning their third-place playoff against Egypt during the FIFA Arab Cup at the Stadium 974 in Ras Abu Aboud on Saturday. (Reuters)

Having concluded a busy year by emerging third in the FIFA Arab Cup 2021, Qatar are now looking forward to the remaining months ahead of the FIFA World Cup on home soil in less than a year. Goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham’s heroics clinched the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win over Egypt at Stadium 974 on Saturday to help Qatar forget their semi-final heartbreak against eventual champions Algeria. As focus now turns to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Sanchez paid tribute to his players. “It was a very nice game, and this type of competition is difficult, and the players gave it their all,” Sanchez said. “We only lost one game in the competition, and the players have played very well.” Sanchez said Qatar’s the bronze-medal finish was a ‘gift’ for people of Qatar. “Winning third place is the best gift for the people of Qatar. Today’s win was achieved on Qatar’s National Day so it is very memorable. We are proud of what we have achieved in this tournament,” Sanchez said. “The tournament was a good experience for us, and its benefits are many. It was an official competition, and we played with teams from across the region. This is the best preparation for us for the 2022 World Cup. Unfortunately, we did not reach the final, but we proved that we could play with any team,” he added. Qatar advanced to the knockout stage with a perfect record of three wins in the group stage before seeing off the challenge of United Arab Emirates in the quarter-finals. There was disappointment in the semi-final though, with Algeria scoring in the 17th minute of added time to win 2-1. Sanchez had challenged his players to forget the loss and they rose to the occasion against Egypt as they forced a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes and then held their nerve in the shootout, with Barsham producing a standout performance. “An indescribable feeling to get the third place,” the 23-year-old Barsham said. “The victory did not come in vain; we made great efforts. We congratulate everyone on the occasion of the National Day.” More importantly for Qatar, their FIFA Arab Cup experience caps a year where Sanchez’s side played in the second round of the AFC Asian Qualifiers, Concacaf Gold Cup and European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup. Midfielder Abdulaziz Hatem said the experience gained would help Qatar prepare well for the FIFA World Cup. “The team has grown over the last three years and we will work hard for the FIFA World Cup,” said Hatem. “Congratulations to everyone who participated and everyone who supported us. We wanted to win the Cup. We worked hard for it, but in the end, we were lucky to be in third place, and that’s a good thing.” Meanwhile, Qatar’s midfielder Assim Madibo said that finishing third in the Arab Cup was not his side’s goal when they entered the tournament. Madibo, who was substituted at the beginning of the second half, said: “We entered the tournament to compete for the Arab Cup trophy, but things go according to God’s will.” He added: “We needed to beat Egypt today to take third place on this special day for the Qatari people, during the National Day celebration. It was a complicated match, we faced great difficulties against a big team like Egypt, who could have also won considering the opportunities that they had, but this is football.”