Tribune News Network
Doha
While hosts Qatar may have the tie against Kyrgyzstan weighing a bit on their shoulders, they would surely go in as favourites in the third round Group A match of the 20026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Thursday. The game will kick-off at 7pm and a big crowd is expected to cheer the twice Asian champions at home.
Qatar, who have had two back-to-back winless games after winning 10 of their previous 11 games, are eager to bounce back strongly and they would look to attack from the word go against Kyrgyzstan, who have faced two consecutive defeats and have won only two of their last ten games across all competitions.
In the qualifiers, Qatar suffered a shock 3-1 defeat to United Arab Emirates and then had to survive a nervy encounter against North Korea, with the tie ending 2-2 under challenging conditions in rain.
Kyrgyzstan, however, will not be easy opponents as the Central Asian side held their own despite defeats to Iran (1-0) and Uzbekistan (3-2).
Qatar know they have to take three points against Kyrgyzstan if they are to keep the top two within touching distance. A win would also make Al Annabi confident ahead of their next away showdown against Iran.
A cautious Qatar coach Marquez Lopez, however, called for calm and focus from his players. Speaking at the pre-match media conference, the Spaniard said, “We know the difficulty of this game and our goal is to achieve our first victory in the qualifiers. All players are ready for the match, but we need to stay calm, focused and play without pressure to secure the win.”
“We have many outstanding players, and everyone is prepared for this challenge,” he added.
To add to Qatar’s attacking strength of Akram Afif, Almoez Ali and Edmilson Junior, Lopez has recalled the much experienced defender Abdelkarim Hassan, who had stood out during Qatar’s 2019 Asian Cup campaign, and Boualem Khoukhi.
“Some players, like Abdulkarim Hassan and Boualem Khoukhi, deserve to be considered for the national team. Hassan’s recent performances with Al Wakrah have been impressive, and Boualem has excelled with Al Sadd. Adding these players to the national team would strengthen our squad,” Lopez explained.
Regarding Kyrgyzstan, who scored two goals against Uzbekistan and conceded only one against Iran, Lopez said: ‘We’ve thoroughly studied them and understand their playing style. While they’ve scored goals, they’ve also conceded. We’re prepared for any scenario and have developed strategies to help us achieve our objectives.
“Although we still have eight matches to go in the qualifiers, there’s still plenty of opportunity to secure a direct spot in the 2026 World Cup. We can achieve this by finishing first or second in our group. Despite some setbacks, we remain confident in our ability to succeed,” Lopez said.
Qatar’s player Jassem Gaber said his team will be gunning for a win. “We’ve moved on from the past, and our focus is now on the upcoming match. Our goal is to win. The match is on our home soil and in front of our fans, which gives us great motivation as players,” he said.
Kyrgyzstan coach Maksim Lisitsyn, said: “We are fully aware of the strength of the Qatari team, and we will play to achieve victory.
“Our preparations have gone well but we faced some difficulties considering that some of the players only joined training in the past few days, but we are very confident in our ability to overcome what happened in the first and second rounds.”
“Qatar are champions of Asia in the last two editions. Therefore, our task will not be easy. We know that we are heading towards a match during which we could face many difficulties. We will try to impose our style and not let Qatar play the way they want to,” he added.
