Qatar coach stresses discipline ahead of World Cup opener

Felix Sanchez says playing ‘the hero would be suicide’ against tough opponents

Qatar’s national team coach Felix Sanchez has stressed that his team should play in a compact, disciplined manner and avoid a “hero” approach at the upcoming 2022 World Cup.

Hosts Qatar are in Group A alongside Ecuador — who they face in the tournament’s opening match on Nov. 20 — Senegal and the Netherlands.

In an interview published in the Spanish newspaper Marca on Tuesday, Sanchez highlighted the need for a balance between attacking and defensive football against tough opponents.

“There is a lot of physical differences with the rest of the teams,” said the Spanish coach. “We have talented players, we try to play as a monolith, and we can be dangerous on the counterattack.”

“When we get the ball, we try to manage ourselves, although we know that it is very difficult to take the initiative against the teams in this tournament. But we will have to adapt because that is the reality,” added Sanchez, who led Qatar to victory at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

“Trying to play the hero would be suicide, if we are to be among the competitors. We try to be

integrated defensively and take advantage of our opportunities on the (counterattack).”

The 46-year-old coach described the first World Cup opener against Ecuador as “the key,” adding that “if you start well, the dynamic is good, and if you start badly, everything will be more difficult.”

“The first match is

very important, not only because of the result but also because of the feelings we will get, because we can say then that we competed and we will see now what we can do against Senegal. We will do the same or better.”

Sanchez also touched on his work at Aspire Academy, describing the project as “extremely successful, long term and one of the greatest parts of (Qatar’s) success.”

“Without this project, we would not have been able to provide this type of training to players from a young age,” he said.

Sanchez named Brazil as one of his favorites to win the World Cup, adding that Argentina are going through a successful period and remain contenders for the title alongside Spain.