DOHA – Hosts Qatar football team will shake hands with Netherlands in their third and final Group A match of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Doha on Tuesday.
Making Qatar’s task doubly difficult at the Al Bayt Stadium on Tuesday is the fact that the Dutchmen will be primed to strike so that they can confirm their place in the round of 16. After two rounds, Louis van Gaal’s men share the top spot on the table with Ecuador. Both the teams are on four points, followed by Senegal (3) while Qatar do not have a point.
The hosts would love to create an upset and finish on a high but realistically, they would do well to produce a competitive display. Felix Sanchez’s men failed to do that against Ecuador in the opening match while they did much better against Senegal, losing 0-2 and 1-3 respectively. The Asian Cup champions can play good football but unfortunately, they have fallen short of their standards.
Sanchez admitted the Netherlands would be difficult opponents. “It’ll be a very tough game against the Netherlands. They’re a strong outfit, have some excellent players and looking at history, they have competed in three World Cup finals. Our aim is to deliver a competitive performance,” he said.
To do that, Qatar would have to stay focused right through, avoid mistakes of the kind they made against Senegal, and adopt a positive approach. Smaller teams have sparkled at this World Cup and Qatar would do well to draw inspiration from those results.
Source: Qatar Olympic Committee