Qatar confident after thrilling Gold Cup debut

Asian champions Qatar are left with mixed emotions after a back-and-forth 3-3 draw with Panama in their first ever match at the Concacaf Gold Cup. The 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts opened Group D against Panama, a consistent participant in the tournament, and were in the lead on three different occasions. The Central Americans, however, would not be denied.“The positive today is we scored three and the negative is when we conceded three. We always come into the game not to concede, hopefully to win, but that’s football,” said forward Mohamed Muntari in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.A first half tussle ended in a goalless draw at halftime. Muntari mentioned the halftime adjustments made by Qatar coach Felix Sanchez were among the factors that led to their three goals. Despite splitting the points, the AFC Asian Cup champions felt their opening match was a good litmus test for what to expect in the rest of the tournament. Now, they are focused on building and gaining momentum.“Sometimes you win, some you lose, but we are fortunate to come up with the points, we go back to work on it and come back strong for the next game,” said Muntari. “We’re always confident. We are the Asian champions, so we come here with a lot of confidence and we are glad that we showed today and hopefully we can share more in the next games.”Muntari entered Tuesday’s match in the 85th minute, subbed in for Almoez Ali. He is eager to join his fellow forwards among the goal scorers for his country after Almoez Ali, Akram Afif and Hassan al-Haydos all picked up their first Gold Cup goal against Panama.Off the field, the Qatar national team is not only enjoying the experience of playing in the biennial tournament, but also the proximity it gives them to play in front of their fans in the United States.“It means everything,” said Muntari about the Qatari public in attendance for the match. “To have them here is really motivating and we appreciate it and hopefully they can come to the next one also.”Meanwhile, Qatar’s head coach Felix Sanchez said there is room for improvement. Despite their defensive frailties against their Panama, Spaniard Sanchez took home positives as Qatar continue their preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2022 which they will be hosting.“First of all, the beginning of the tournaments is always difficult,” said Sanchez. “We went ahead three times but our opponent managed to claw back into the game. We have to work to correct our mistakes.”Akram Afif, Hassan al-Haydos and Almoez Ali, who became the first player in history to score in three different continental tournaments, were all on fire for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup champions with Sanchez adding that his players were always trying to find ways to score against Panama.“But in general I’m satisfied because the players did their best in the match and the draw is a good result to start a tournament. Although the Panamanian team initially tried to close the spaces, we managed to create opportunities to score,” added the Spaniard. Qatar face another stern challenge tomorrow when they face Grenada, who were defeated 4-0 by Honduras in their opener on Tuesday.