TNN/Agencies
Miami/Doha
Qatar would hope for both luck and pluck to be with them when they take on formidable Mexico in the final and their crucial Group B fixture of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday (4am Monday Doha Time).
Al Annabi, who were pipped at the end in both of their earlier games against Haiti and Honduras, are currently third in standings with 1 point while Mexico lead with 6 points and Haiti have 3 after two matches each.
Qatar lost to Haiti 2-1 and were held 1-1 by Honduras. While Qatar would aim to win against Mexico, they would also need Haiti either lose to Honduras by three goals or fewer or if Haiti and Honduras play to a draw as Qatar has a superior goal difference versus Haiti.
Mexico became the first team to secure a place in the quarter-finals defeating Haiti 3-1 on Thursday.
While the young Qatar side under coach Carlos Queiroz have performed well they have however been at the receiving end of some poor refereeing. In both their matches against Haiti and Honduras they lost out on clear penalty calls. Especially against Honduras where a clear hand ball inside the ball was overlooked.
Queiroz was livid and said, "The referee did not award us a correct penalty kick after the Honduran player touched the ball with his hand clearly inside the penalty area.
The former Real Madrid coach said: "Was the video assistant referee (VAR) technique present in this match? There was a clear hand touch and everyone saw that it was really a correct and clear penalty kick.”
He explained, "We do not want to win or lose in this way due to mistakes from the referees, but we did our best on the field, but losing 4 penalty kicks in two matches makes the entire CONCACAF arbitration system required to review its accounts quickly.”
Queiroz added, "We still lack experience in dealing with some decisive moments, and we look forward to avoiding that in the near future. We performed well at the collective level, and the players fought for every ball, but after the goal, we retreated to defensive performance, and tried to balance between defense and attack, and to score again through counter-attacks.”
He continued, "We deserved a better result in this match, but luck smiled at the Honduran national team in the last minutes.”
On the match against Mexico, Queiroz said, "A very difficult confrontation awaits us against the Mexican national team, and we must continue to play in a more effective way, especially because we have no choice but to win and certainly the match with them will be very exciting and strong.”
Qatar had made it to the semi-finals of 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup on their debut and the present young side would surely look to derive inspiration from that.
Exciting Group A scenario
At present the United States lead the group but are level with Jamaica on four points through two matches. The US currently hold the tiebreaker on goal difference with a difference of three goals.
Third place Trinidad and Tobago are just one point behind with three points and can qualify for the quarter-finals with a win versus the US on Sunday in the group stage finale. Fourth place Saint Kitts and Nevis are eliminated and will face Jamaica.
The top two finishers in this group will advance to play in the quarterfinals on July 9 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Group C and D
Panama are through with 6 points and a game to play in Group C while Gautemala lead Group D with 3 points after two matches while Canada and Guadeloupe have a point each and Cuba zero.