Coach al-Shafei thrilled with Qatar’s under-17 Asian Cup qualification
Gulf Times
Qatari coach Ibrahim al-Shafei
Qatari coach Ibrahim al-Shafei praised his players for their resilience and outstanding performances in their U-17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers in Muscat. Qatar topped the Group C after beating Iraq, Oman and Lebanon, in addition to a 1-1 draw against Bahrain. “Of course, this is a continuation of the recent achievements for Qatari sports in general and football in particular, and we are a part of the Qatari football project for the upcoming years,” said al-Shafie after Qatar’s 4-1 triumph over Lebanon in the final group match on Sunday. “These players took the big step towards the finals of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup, which is definitely an achievement we secured through the teamwork of everyone involved. But this is only the first step. We have a much more formidable challenge ahead: the road to the World Cup. We are taking it step by step until we reach our target,” he added. Al-Shafei said Qatar were in a tough group and was impressed by his boys’ resilience throughout the qualifiers. “As for our qualifying campaign, we were in a difficult group with some Gulf teams like Oman, Bahrain, Iraq and also Lebanon. There were multiple favourites to go through as group winners. When we won our first game against a solid Iraqi side, it was a very strong start for us, even after the draw with Bahrain in the second game,” he said. “We were all confident that we could come back, and we came back very strongly against Oman, and today we completed our task in a big way against Lebanon. When you win against Iraq, Oman and Lebanon and draw with Bahrain, I think it’s a very successful campaign. We didn’t have many negatives,” he added. Al-Shafei was focused on long-term target as he reminded the boys to aim for bigger goal of playing the U-17 World Cup. “I tell my boys that this is only the start. We have completed our first step, and we have many steps remaining in the near future, starting with the AFC U-17 Asian Cup finals. A big future awaits in your sporting career. You must work hard and persevere on every small detail to improve both individually and as a group, and also focus on the mental aspect on and off the pitch. One step is done, but more essential steps remain ahead of us. “We look forward to competing in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup finals, not just participating. As we showed everyone, the team’s level bodes well for the future, and we are going to the AFC U-17 Asian Cup to compete for one of the top four spots that will take us to the U-17 World Cup. This is what we want, it’s our target, and we hope we can achieve it,” he signed out.