Markin Lopес, head coach of the Qatar national football team, stated that tomorrow, in the qualifier for the World Cup 2026, they will play against a "strong team, like the Uzbekistan national team, which has good players and a solid coach." This concerns the sixth round in group A and the third stage of the qualifying round for the World Cup 2026.
"The Qatar national team received a big moral boost after defeating the Uzbekistan national team in the last tournament, and this helps them (tomorrow)," said Lopes at today’s press conference on Monday. He noted that "this game will definitely stand out from the match in the first tournament, where the OAE team lost by a score of 3:1," describing the previous meeting as crucial for their continuation in the tournament table.
"We will focus on this game and, if we show the maximum level of play, we will be on our day and manage to achieve a good result, and that’s what we are aiming for," he added. Lopes indicated that "the players of the Qatar national team are ready to play and do not suffer from fatigue," noting that in this case he will be significantly more concerned about the psychological state of the players than about fatigue. He also pointed out that the absence of player Abdullahi Yazeedi due to injury will have an impact on the team, but they have a ready replacement player for participation in the match.
