A confident Qatar will take on El Salvador in the Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-finals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Saturday (2:30am Qatar time). While the match marks the first ever Gold Cup meeting between the two sides, El Salvador and Qatar are already familiar with each other from their friendly last month played in Croatia in which Qatar emerged with a 1-0 victory.
Guest nation Qatar are capable of setting off fireworks in the attacking third. No team has scored more goals than the reigning Asian champions in the group stage, with nine goals as they took the top spot in Group D. Felix Sanchez’s men were impressive performance in the group stage, where they were unbeaten after wins over Grenada (4-0) and Honduras (2-0) besides playing a thrilling 3-3 draw against Panama in their opening game.
Almoez Ali already has two goals in the tournament and was the man that provided that winning score in the friendly versus El Salvador last month. Meanwhile, Akram Afif has two goals and two assists and Pedro Miguel has a pair of assists as well, in addition to leading the team with most fouls received (8).
With every step Qatar take in the Gold Cup, they are making history, while for El Salvador, a first ever semi-final appearance beckons with a victory. Abdelaziz Hatim, Qatar’s experienced midfielder, said his team is expecting a tough clash against El Salvador. “We will face a solid team that plays smartly, and our task will not be as easy compared to matches we played in the group stage,” said Hatim.
“We were able to beat the same opponent in a friendly match before the tournament when we were in Croatia for a training camp, but we will not be misled into thinking that Saturday’s game will be the same as the friendly was. It’s a new day with different circumstances,” he added.
El Salvador have already made history in this Gold Cup by winning two group stage matches for the first time ever, finishing second in Group A, and now they will be seeking another historical mark with a first ever quarter-final victory. Under new Head Coach Hugo Perez, El Salvador have found their attacking stride and players like Jairo Henriquez and Joaquin Rivas have each found a goal thus far in the tournament, while Walmer Martinez has provided a spark off the bench, including with a goal in the group stage versus Trinidad and Tobago.
Meanwhile defending champions Mexico and host United States will be favourites in their respective quarter-final matches after impressive group stage performances. The biennial North America football championship tournament has been won eight times by Mexico and six by the US squad with Canada taking the only other crown in 2000.
Mexico take on Honduras tonight, while the US team face Jamaica and Canada play against Costa Rica on Sunday at Dallas.