Qatar registers disappointing FIFA World Cup record in its debut hosting session
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Ismaeel Mohammad looks frustrated after a missed chance.
In the third group stage weekend, the Netherlands played the hosts Qatar in the Group A encounter with the top spot up for grabs. With the hosts, Qatar already out of the tournament and playing their last match in front of their home fans in the hope of giving something for them to cheer about and end the tournament with a point.
But things went from worse as Qatar went on to achieve a new low as they became the first host nation to lose all their three group stage matches. They finished the group in the last position after their 2-0 loss to the Oranje army and coach Felix Sanchez looked dejected at the end of the matches claiming that his team never really fought for a place in the round of 16 stage.
Qatar came into the FIFA World Cup not just as a host but always as the continental champions having won the 2019 Asian Cup, and fans were expecting a lot of things from this talented squad but they failed to achieve the heights. Qatar lost their first match against Ecuador 2-0, then their second match against Senegal by 3 goals to 1, and finally lost their penultimate match to the Netherlands by 2-0 today.
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What did Felix Sanchez say about Qatar’s performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
When coach Felix Sanchez was asked if he ever believed that Qatar would progress to the next round, he said, “We’re a country with 6,000 football licenses so this was a likely situation. We never thought at any time to set a target of reaching the last 16 or the quarter-finals. We just wanted to come here and see what we could do. We managed to play two good games against Senegal and the Netherlands.”
He added, “The first game we weren’t at our usual level and we know that. You can use statistics how you want but we need to make our own assessments.” When asked about his future and if he would continue as the Qatar coach, he said, “I’m not sure about my future, to be honest… We just have to reflect on this. We haven’t thought anything, in particular, about the future.”
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Soumyadeep Mondal
(882 Articles Published)