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Ammon News - Hosts Qatar will take on debutants Tajikistan with a certain assurance as also some nerves hoping to seal in the Round of 16 of AFC Asian Cup 2023 with a match to spare at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday evening.

A win will take Al Annabi through although should China -Lebanon tie end in a draw earlier in the day, will also assure Marquez Lopez’s defending champions a top spot in Group A.


It would also be the first time that Qatar would advance into the last 16 of the tournament on consecutive occasions for the first time.

Qatar will look to extend their winning streak to eight matches - stretching back to their 2019 title triumph more so with a spot in the knockouts being well within their grasp given the form and fitness.

Attacking from the word go, Qatar were sharp from the opening whistle against Lebanon in the opener and were rewarded for their efforts with a deserving victory. While it took nearly the entire opening 45 minutes for them to go in front, their patience eventually paid off, with the Maroons scoring three or more goals in a game for the fourth time in their last five fixtures.

Qatar have not lost a group stage encounter at this tournament since 2015 (2-1 loss to Bahrain), winning their last four Asian Cup group matches by a combined score of 13-0.

For Tajikistan, their opening clash against China may have been their first-ever encounter at the Asian Cup but they did not look overwhelmed putting the rivals on their heels for a good portion of that contest.

“We’re going to enter this match in order to achieve a victory,” said Lopez. “They are a difficult opponent but we have studied them and we know that they have speedy players who can hurt us.

“From the first day I’ve said that we have to take it one match at a time, we want to lead and we want to go to the second round, that objective hasn’t changed.”

“We have to use all the tools we have to score as early as possible but the most important thing is to be prepared and ready for the match.

“Of course we all think about the games to come in the next round but we have to focus first on the next game first. If we win, it’s possible that we win the group then we’ll see who we might get in the next round.”

Tajikistan’s goalless draw against China saw them extend their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions, and their coach Petar Segrt will see it as a missed opportunity as his young team were the aggressors for long stretches.

“We respect Qatar as the champions and great hosts but for at least 90 minutes tomorrow, we must put that aside,” said Segrt. “We will try to achieve a good result and make a good impression, to try to get one or three points.


Segrt revealed that his team would bank on attack being the best policy. “We cannot go into a game to get one point, we will try our best. More important is how we behave and how we play our football.

“It’s not the character of the Tajikistan people to play defensive. So we will try to play our football but we must also respect that Qatar are stronger than China and they will also have their supporters behind them,” he said.

Segrt sees a chance for his side and wants his players to battle hard. “Before we went into the first game, the players were thinking that they are happy to be here but after the performance we showed, they are now starting to think that they have a chance.

“We had dreams two years ago to come to the Asian Cup, now we have a new dream, now we want to have the first goal in the Asian Cup.”

While Tajikistan will take inspiration from the fact that they have not lost to a side from Asia since June 2023 (5-1 defeat to Uzbekistan) and have not been held off the scoresheet in consecutive matches since playing to a pair of 0-0 draws in November 2022 (versus Russia) and March 2023 (against the United Arab Emirates), they have also never been able to put it across Qatar except in a friendly.

Qatar have captured three of their four encounters all-time versus Tajikistan and have never been held scoreless against them.

Qatar Tribune