Sanchez: This phase does not accept mistakes

“I think this phase of the tournament does not accept mistakes,” Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said on Wednesday. “We are playing against a strong team and everyone knows their quality.”
He added: “It will be a semi-final. The game is certainly difficult, and we will enter it with great hope. We know the level of the opponent, and we have confidence in our players, and are ready to perform well. These games do not accept division by two; either we lose or win.”
Regarding the importance of having many players from the same club, he said: “It is true that we have a lot of players from one club. We have known ourselves for some time, and we know the points of each player. We will prepare well for the game.”

Concerning the absence of Bassam Al-Rawi, he said: “We know that he is injured and he needs surgery, so we announced that he is out of the competition in this tournament, but the rest of the players are ready to play and will exert all efforts to serve the team. We will work to keep the focus high for all players during the game.”

He added: “We always prefer to have all the players, and Madibo is not on the list of the 23 players. Everyone remembers the absent players, but we must focus on those who are present, and we are happy with them.”
Regarding the previous two encounters against Saudi Arabia, Sanchez said: “The previous two games were important, but they are from the past. The situation has changed now. This is a different tournament. It will be an open match. Whoever imposes his strength will be the candidate to win.”

He explained: “About the emotions and feelings in the last game, it was an important game. If we won we would qualify, and if we lost we would go out; but the players did not disappoint the fans, so they celebrated this way.”
He concluded: “The match between the Qatari and Saudi teams has nothing to do with the nationality of the coaches. We hope to provide a good match, and we will spare no effort in that.”