(MENAFN- The Peninsula) #AFC U23 ASIAN CUP The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: After recording a 2-0 victory over Indonesia in the AFC U23 Asian Cup opener, Qatar are brimming with confidence as they meet Jordan in their second Group A match at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium today.
Qatar head coach Ilidio Vale said the team will go all out for a win but cautioned his payers of taking the opponents lightly.
“Naturally, before starting this competition, we knew that it would be difficult to qualify from this group,” the 66-year-old said.“We expect another difficult game for Qatar (but) there is a slogan for our team, which is to 'win and nothing but the win'.”
Jordan, who were held to a goalless draw in their first match on Monday against Australia, will have their task made more difficult by the suspension of captain Danial Afaneh after the centre-back was sent off in that game.
Head coach Abdallah Abu Zema, however, played down any concerns over his captain's unavailability and called on his charges to reset their mentality for their first ever encounter against Qatar in tournament history.
“When we announced our squad of players (for this tournament), of course we already had in mind an alternative player for everyone... and thankfully, we also have someone to replace Danial,” the 48-year-old said.
“The game against Qatar has its own circumstances, tactics, decisions and different instructions to be taken. We have played Australia and we are going to forget that - it is done and we got the point we needed.
“We look forward to our game against Qatar in a very serious manner and hope it will take us one step closer to the knockout stage. However, let's not forget that the Qatari team is playing on their own turf, in their own country and amongst their own people and they are a very good team. This is something to be taken into consideration but we will be getting ready and hoping for the best.”
Named the Most Valuable Player in their opening match, midfielder Jassem Gaber is aiming to turn in another commanding display and vowed that Qatar will improve as their campaign progresses.
“We are taking it step by step in this tournament and we have just finished the first step,” said the 22-year-old, who has already been capped at senior level and scored at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023TM.“But mainly, we will focus on our coach's instructions, and be even better in the next game.”
The other Group A match today will see Australia taking on Indonesia campaign at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, hoping to secure their first win.
Australia coach Tony Vidmar said:“We were happy to start off with a point in this tournament,” said Vidmar referring to Jordan draw.“We look forward to playing Indonesia, which is going to be a really good game.”
“Ten of their players were at the senior Asian Cup so that will be a real test. They were impressive at the senior Asian Cup in January. That's what we're here for, to be tested against good opposition, different types of football.”
Indonesia, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back from a demoralizing 2-0 loss to Qatar in their opener on Monday at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, when goals from Khalid Ali and Ahmad Al Rawi earned the hosts all three points.
Shin's hopes of taking the Indonesians into the next phase of the competition are further impacted by the unavailability of Ivar Jenner and Ramadhan Sananta, who were both sent off in the loss on Monday and will be serving suspensions as a result.
Jenner was dismissed moments into the second half for a second bookable offence following a challenge on Saif Eldeen Hassan while Sananta was given a straight red card for a foul on Mohammed Aiash deep into injury time at the end of the game.
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