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IKOLI VICTOR
DOHA
Hernan Dario Gomez, the Ecuadorian national team coach, has described Qatar's national team as a Mercedes and his team a Renault following their 4-3 defeat at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Friday.
The seven-goal thriller produced exciting moments, good football, tactical coordination, and defensive blunders. The Ecuadorians were always behind on the scoresheet but always showed strength as they fought back to narrow the deficit.
Gomez, not wanting to make excuses for his team, admitted that the long trip from Ecuador to Doha made the players tired for the third friendly between the two nations.
"Physically, Qatar were superior. In the one-on-one, we lost, it was not a good match, there is no need to apologise, but the long trip was felt and that is why there is no coordination and there were mistakes,"said G'f3mez.
"Today's difficulties were mostly physical. They were faster, they looked like a Mercedes and we were a Renault 4. We did not have enough work to give the team tactical coordination," he said.
The Ecuadorian team also had to play with a numerical disadvantage in the final part of the match after the expulsion of Frickson Erazo who was followed by skipper Valencia Enner in added time.
"When you do not feel good physically, you lose your head, it was not a good day for us in physical condition, we did not get things out and it was not a good day to give a good level," he added.
The Colombian coach praised the performance of the Qatar team led by Spanish coach Felix Sanchez, who showed an organisation and ability to react quickly in counterattack throughout the match.
"I saw a quick, precise team, organised tactically, I would have liked to see it before a better rival because today we were not," he said.
On Qatar's participation in the Copa America 2019 where Ecuador will take part, Gomez said:"I like the Qatar team because they are good and they won't suffer in Brazil."
