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Tribune News Network
Kuwait City
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez wants the defending champions to go for an all-out assault against Bahrain in their final Group B clash at the Gulf Cup on Friday.
A win in the crucial tie will take Qatar into the semi-finals of the eight-team tournament though a draw will be enough for Bahrain to secure a last-four berth.
In their two matches so far, three-time Gulf Cup champions Qatar beat Yemen 4-0, last Saturday, but lost to Iraq 2-1 after a feisty battle on Tuesday.
Bahrain, coached by Miroslav Soukup, drew with Iraq 1-1 in their opening game but edged Yemen 1-0 in their second clash to hold a one point advantage ahead of the 2014 Gulf Cup champions.
Qatar are currently placed third in the group with three points behind Iraq and Bahrain, who have four points each.
Given the scenario, Sanchez has urged the Al Annabi to go for a winning performance."I am 100 percent sure we will play an aggressive game tomorrow and get the result we are looking for. We have to go for the win," said the Spaniard on Thursday.
"The team is motivated to face the 'final' (game of the preliminary stage). We are motivated to play well and to get the result we need," Sanchez stressed, adding,"I think so far the team is in a positive frame of mind."
He said Qatar's 2-1 loss against Iraq had many positives for his young side.
"The team showed great personality in the match against Iraq. They (the players) tried to perform to the best of their ability. We could not win in the second game but I know they tried hard. They gave their best on the pitch. The team is fit and hopefully we will do better against Bahrain," said Sanchez.
The Qatar coach who has coached most of the U-23 players in the national squad said his team had a day of rest and recovery ahead of the crunch match at Kuwait Sports Club Stadium.
"In this tournament, many matches are played within a short period of time. The only thing we can do is recover as fast as possible after every game. Physically we still have had one more day to rest and recover before we take on Bahrain," said Sanchez.
He said that the Iraq clash was a battle that tested his team to the fullest.
"I think in the game against Iraq, we faced a situation where the team played a high level of football which was good. We needed to play direct but we could not. It was difficult to keep the ball in possession, especially when we reached the last stretch (of the second half)," Sanchez explained.
"They had the counter-attacks and sometimes the game was broken for us since they dominated. We needed to take risks to get a point and we tried to do that. It was difficult for us to have the control of the match even though we tried to do it. Unfortunately we couldn't get the result though we almost managed to score the goal in the end," he added.
In contrast, Bahrain coach Soukup seemed quite happy with his team being in a better situation.
"Compared to Qatar, our situation is still positive since we have one more point than Qatar. We also have a chance to qualify for the semi-finals since we want to repeat the Iraq performance in the first match of the tournament," he said.
He, however, was wary of Qatar's capabilities."We respect their quality because they are the 2014 Gulf Cup champions. They have very good players and don't forget we saw their game against Iraq. The quality was evident on both sides. Qatar had a chance to win. They scored first," said Soukup.
"We know a lot about Qatar and we discuss those things in the team meetings. We want to do a good job. It is 0-0 for both teams. Like I said, we want to repeat the performance we had against Iraq," he added.
About his team's tactics or player changes, Soukup dismissed it with a smile.
"Any changes to the team? I can't speak of our line-up because that would be of advantage for Qatar. We have no injury issues. That much I can say. All our attackers can score. We also know the quality of our opponents. Qatar vs Iraq was about quality of defenders," said Soukup.
The Bahrain coach, however, insisted that his team won't be playing for a draw.
"I don't think we will play for a draw. I am a bad coach because I can't plan for a draw. I want to win matches. I cannot tell players to play for a draw. That would be incorrect. My motivation should be to win. If we think like that before a game, then I think we'd lose. I have told my players not to play for a draw," said Soukup.
Both matches of the two groups will be played simultaneously at 6:30pm on Friday. Iraq will play bottom-placed Yemen in the second Group B clash.
