Qatar must work very hard for points, says coach Lopez ahead of Iran clash

Doha, Qatar: Qatar have breathed new life into their World Cup qualifying campaign with a pivotal victory over Kyrgyzstan but head coach Marquez Lopez...

Doha, Qatar: Qatar have breathed new life into their World Cup qualifying campaign with a pivotal victory over Kyrgyzstan but head coach Marquez Lopez is aware his ranks have a mountain to climb in quest to seal their berth in the global football showpiece.

After suffering a surprising loss to the United Arab Emirates and drawing against North Korea, Qatar responded with a much-needed 3-1 win in their home fixture on Thursday. The victory took their tally to four points from three matches.

Lopez had expressed his delight over the comeback win but urged his team to up the ante as the focus is now shifted to the highly-anticipated match against Iran this Tuesday.

“The goal in all the matches that the Qatari team plays is not to lose points, and to make every effort to achieve positive results, as the difficult journey requires dealing with all matches with the utmost seriousness,” the Qatar coach said.