Sanchez: It was a wonderful night

Felix Sanchez, the coach of the Qatari national team, described the atmosphere that accompanied his team’s victory over the UAE by “wonderful”.

He said after the confrontation: “Thank you to the Qatari fans who were at the stadium, and I thank all the supporters everywhere. It was a wonderful night.”

He added: “In the first half, we did not play on the draw and did not think about it. We made a great offensive game and played with a winning mentality, but unfortunately we received a goal in this half. In the second half, we scored two more goals, and the opponent scored one goal, but in the end we are happy.”

Commenting on the decisions of the referee: “We must respect the views of the referees and obey their orders. We deserved the victory and this is the most important.”

Asked about the secret of Qatar’s performance in this way, Sanchez said: “In the three games we played well, and the players gave their full potential. In the first game we were not lucky, and in the second and third games we showed our true face, especially in the attack and scored many goals, and we will continue to work.”

“It was a special day for Akram Afif. He deserved what he got. I know him since 2006. He deserves the award. He has worked a lot in the past years, and all the players love football. You have seen what they did in Asia earlier this year.”