CHANGZHOU: Unbeaten Qatar will be looking to pick up full points against hosts China and seal a quarter-finals berth when the two sides meet today in an AFC U-23 Asian Cup clash.
Group A leaders Qatar, who just need one point to secure a quarter-finals berth, have beaten Uzbekistan and Oman in their two matches to keep their slate clean ahead of their match at Changzhou Sports Centre.
"We will approach the game as if it was a final," Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said yesterday. "If we can now get a result against China, it would give us even more confidence going into our next game (in the quarter-finals)," Sanchez added.
"To qualify for the next round would be a good achievement, but I think finishing first gives you confidence because you will have finished top of a very tough group," the Spaniard said when asked if the team would settle for a draw.
"I believe that in a long competition like this, confidence is important because over the course of 90 minutes you can be the first or the last team," he added.
Sanchez said China remains a major threat despite losing to Uzbekistan last week.
"We know that China is a very strong team and we will plan well for the match, just as we did for the other two teams in the group,” Sanchez said.
"China has shown over the course of their two games, even during their defeat to Uzbekistan, that they have talented players and are very well organised," he added.
China coach Massimiliano Maddaloni said yesterday: "We need to have confidence because we are growing up as a team. We need to face our next opponents, who are Qatar, in a positive frame of mind."
When asked to comment about the defeat against Uzbekistan on Friday, Maddaloni said: "As far as we are concerned, we need to reflect on the result of the game against Uzbekistan in a positive manner."
Key striker Almoez Ali yesterday told reporters the Qatar team is brimming with confidence having accumulated six points from two matches.
"We have a very important game against China coming up and we are preparing ourselves well. The team is ready for the match," Ali said yesterday. "We are doing very well in this tournament so far and we already have six points," he added.
Ali said Qatar expects to see a huge Chinese crowd turning up for the clash today.
"At the AFC U-19 Championship in Myanmar in 2014, we played against Myanmar and there were nearly 30,000 spectators there," Ali said of Qatar's title-winning triumph three years ago.
"I think the team will face the same sort of challenge against China as the stadium will be full. Nevertheless, we are ready," he added.
Also today, Uzbekistan take on Oman at the Jiangyin Sports Center knowing that a win would also see them through to the competition’s knockout phase.
Uzbekistan's head coach Ravshan Khaydarov is relieved that his team beat hosts China on Friday.
"The next game against Oman is very important for us,” Khaydarov said during a press conference yesterday. "The win against China was very important because of the situation we found ourselves in following the game against Qatar.
"I think that every team in this group will now face a battle to qualify, as all four teams still have a real chance to reach the quarter-finals," he added.
Oman coach Hamad Al Azani said yesterday: "I was disappointed with the last result (against Qatar), and for sure we will try our very best to qualify. It would be a great pity to go out of the competition without having won any points."
