Qatar to take on Afghanistan in AFC U17 Asian Cup
Qatar enter their final Group B match on Thursday against Afghanistan requiring both a win and a favour from leaders Korea Republic if they are to progress to the next stage.
The West Asians claimed their first point of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Thailand 2023 with a resolute 0-0 draw against the Islamic Republic of Iran on Monday to keep their hopes of qualifying alive.
It means that Qatar need victory as well as for the Koreans to trump Iran - both by a sufficient combined margin - in order to overcome a 10-goal swing in goal difference to pip the Iranians to second spot.
While Ibrahim al-Shafie is aware of the circumstances, he stressed that all his charges can do is to give their all and not worry about anything else as they prepare to meet the Afghans for the first time in the history of the competition.
“Maybe we will score one goal, maybe seven; we don’t know but the boys will fight like they did against Iran,” he said.
“I can tell you this: the squad that you have been seeing has a lot more to offer. We still have a chance to qualify and we will prepare for that.
“Football is all about putting in effort and getting the results. We will go in with full energy with the intention of winning the match. Besides that, the result (of the other game) is not in our hands.”
Their opponents have found the going tough in their second U17 Asian Cup appearance, after their debut in the previous edition in 2018.
Then, they exited the tournament in the group stage
with three defeats in as many matches and consecutive losses to Iran (6-1) and Korea (4-0) this time mean that the Central Asians are still searching for their first ever point in the competition.
The odds may look stacked against them, but Afghanistan head coach Yosuf Mohandis Zada asserted that his charges remain determined to go all out and end their time in Thailand on a positive note.
“It can be very challenging to bounce back after experiencing two defeats,” he said.
“However, we have the necessary staff to aid in our recovery.”
“Prior to arriving here, we had a streak of 13 matches without a defeat. But it’s a different scenario here. We had been playing on artificial turf and are (now) slowly getting used to playing on grass.
“The matches here are tough; however, the team is ready to fight till the end to win the match.”
Korea Republic head coach Byun Sung-hwan wants his team to maintain their winning momentum when they face Iran today.
Korea Republic are already assured of a place in the quarter-finals after consecutive victories and will face an Iran side needing to avoid defeat to join them in the knockout stage.
Having stamped their authority on matchday one with an impressive 6-1 defeat of Qatar, Korea Republic followed up with four unanswered goals against Afghanistan to become the first team in the competition to score double figures.
Byun, however, wants his players to improve their performance citing that his team showed a lack of intensity against Afghanistan.
“Since we have already reached the knockout stage, our focus will be on our performance against Iran,” said Byun.
“Although we scored four goals against Afghanistan, I still think there are some areas that are in need of improvements. In our first match our scoring was perfect. However, against Afghanistan in the second half I decided to substitute some of the players to preserve their stamina for
upcoming matches. However, this plan did not go well as our performance dropped.
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