World Cup Qualifiers: Qatar Aim For Quick Turnaround In North Korea Tie

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fawad Hussain | The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: Coach Marquez Lopez is confident Qatar will put up a better show when they meet North Korea in their second Group A match in Vientiane, Laos today.

The two-time Asian champions got off to a shaky start in the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers, losing a home game to the United Arab Emirates 1-3 on Thursday.

The defeat threw them to the bottom of the six-nation group from which top two teams will earn direct qualification for the football showpiece in North America.

But with nine matches still remaining in the group, Lopez has not pushed the panic button telling his ranks to stay focused and avoid mistakes at the New Laos National Stadium.

“We are ready for the match and our aim is to bounce back in the qualifiers with a win,” Qatar coach told a press conference on the eve of the match.

“We didn't have a start we wished for but it's a long journey and we will do what it takes to get back to winning ways,” said the Spaniard.

Qatar looked a better side in front of home fans at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, enjoying the lion's share of ball possession and creating many chances against the UAE. But after taking a first-half lead through 18-year-old Ibrahim Al Hassan, they conceded three goals in the second half to see an end to their 11-match unbeaten streak.

“We made mistakes against the UAE and lost despite dominating the match as we missed many chances. But mistakes are part of the game and so are defeats like wins and draws. All we need to do is to rectify our mistakes and make the best effort to put are campaign back on track quickly,” said Lopez.

North Korea also suffered a defeat in their opening match on Thursday with Uzbekistan claiming full points against Sin Yong Nam's side with a 1-0 win in Tashkent.

Lopez said North Korea played well against Uzbekistan as he expected a difficult test against them today.

“All our focus is now on the match against North Korea in which we want to earn three points. But that would not be easy because North Korea played beautiful football though they lost against Uzbekistan. It is going to be a tough tie against them,” said the 62-year-old.

Qatar's Yusuf Abdurisag hoped the team will return to winning form in the match set to kick off at 3pm (Doha time).

“It's a game between the sides which started with defeats and they will fight hard to open their account that makes it another difficult game,” the Al Sadd forward said.

“The coach pointed out the mistakes we did against the UAE. We will give our best to avoid these mistakes and implement his instructions accurately against North Korea. The support of fans is crucial for us always as it has been a driving force behind what we have achieved so far.”

Qatar reached Vientiane on Sunday night and held their final training session ahead of the game yesterday. Lopez included two additional players for the tie with Al Duhail winger Edmilson Junior receiving his maiden call-up. Al Rayyan starlet Ahmed Al Rawi was the other inclusion in the squad following defeat against UAE.

Qatar trounced North Korea 6-0 at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the last clash between the two sides when striker Almoez Ali scored a hat-trick.

“Qatar are a strong team and the current Asian champions, they are well trained. In football, anything can happen so we have to prepare well and try to get a good result,” said North Korea coach Nam.

In other Group A matches today, the UAE will host Iran in Al Ain while Uzbekistan will take on hosts Kyrgyzstan in their away game in Bishkek.

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