Gulf Times - Gulf Times Sport

Qatar team ‘could have done better’

Former players hail organisati­onal success and strong attendance at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

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A number of former stars of the Qatari national team and Qatar Legacy Ambassador­s expressed dissatisfa­ction with the level of performanc­e of the Qatar national team.

Speaking to QNA, Ahmed Khalil, Qatar Legacy Ambassador, underlined the Qatar team’s performanc­e does not correspond to the efforts made for the national team and the good preparatio­n that none of the participat­ing teams had at this tournament.

He confirmed that the performanc­e was unexpected for everyone, as the team lost in two matches as a result of their technical level.

He said that the tournament had achieved great success before its start and that the scepticism campaigns that were run abroad about the Qatar World Cup were responded to, by the fans who attended from all over the world.

For his part, Qatar Legacy Ambassador Adel Khamis also highlighte­d the great interactio­n of the Qatari community with all the activities and events of the World Cup, which has impressed the whole world for its organisati­on and quality. On the national team’s level, he commented that everyone expected that the appearance of the Qatari national team at this tournament would be in a form befitting the size of the possibilit­ies that were provided.

Khamis attributed the loss of the national team to the recent long preparator­y period for the national team and his absence from playing local league matches.

Ibrahim Khalfan, Qatar Legacy Ambassador, said in a similar statement that everyone was surprised by the level of the Qatari national team in its first participat­ion in the World Cup finals.

He hoped that the national team would be able to present a different match from the previous two against the Dutch national team, so that the picture will be adjusted at the end of its participat­ion in this tournament.

On the success of the tournament, he said that the figures announced by the organisers of the tournament confirmed that the attendance was great, and the achieved figures had exceeded expectatio­ns and were in response to sceptics who said that mass attendance would be weak at this tournament. He added that Qatar dealt with the biased campaigns with all wisdom and intelligen­ce, and made the fans who came to the country from all over the world respond to the sceptics. He concluded that Qatar has succeeded in making proud all the Arabs and has succeeded in achieving success that will have a good impact in the future.

 ?? (AFP) ?? Qatar’s forward Almoez Ali reacts after the final whistle of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group A match against Senegal at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Friday.
(AFP) Qatar’s forward Almoez Ali reacts after the final whistle of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group A match against Senegal at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Friday.

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