(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Peninsula
Doha: Newly-crowned Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif h (pictured) as admitted Qatar are facing tough challenge in the decisive round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers, saying the team needs a quick turnaround.
The back-to-back Asian Cup champions and host of the last global finals are languishing in fourth in their six-team group, with only the top two in the phase receiving automatic World Cup qualification.
“It's true that our situation in World Cup qualification is very tough. It's not easy, this situation is different to the Asian Cup where you just play seven games and either you win the tournament or you go out in the knockout stage and that's it,” Afif, who clinched the prestigious Asian award for the record-equaling second time in Seoul on Tuesday was quoted as saying by FIFA.
The qualification for the World Cup is a long-term one, over many months and if you don't qualify [directly] there are also play-offs, so it's like a marathon. Of course we are not happy with the points that we have so far, as players we try our best and sometimes we face difficult moments, difficult situations, bad results, it happens. This is part of football but the most important thing is how we come back, how we can find wins and make our fans and supporters happy.”
Sitting six adrift of section pacesetters Iran and Uzbekistan, the Maroons are approaching a critical qualification junction in the upcoming international window when they host the Uzbeks on November 14 before hopping across to Al Ain for a clash with United Arab Emirates five days later.
Should they fail to collect points in those matches then not only will automatic qualification all but disappear but they'll also likely struggle to hold off the advance of the nations directly below them, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea. Given that only the teams that finish third and fourth remain alive in the hunt for World Cup tickets, Afif knows that his nation's survival hopes are on the line in the coming matches.
“We are trying our best, still we are not out and still we have not qualified; if we win the next two games we are back, maybe we are up to second.
“I don't want to think too far ahead, just the next match against Uzbekistan. It's not easy because they are a big team and we respect them. Yes, we won against them on penalties [in the quarterfinals of this year's Asian Cup] but that was eight months ago and everything is different but we will try our best for sure.”
On winning the Asian award, Afif said:“This [award] is something big for my career, to be the first Qatari player and one of three players to win twice, it's not easy. Imagine being Messi or Ronaldo where they win awards seven or eight times, it's not like that!
“I hope this serves as an inspiration for other Qatari players to also try to win these kind of awards but they need to do a lot of things; to sacrifice, to work hard, to lead. Sometimes they will lose, they will fail, they will get fans angry and receive negative comments but they need to stay strong, try harder and just to work every day.” (FIFA)
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