Qatar beats Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Asian Cup group E match

Feared striker Amloez Ali yesterday won praise from Jose Mourinho who said the young Qatari forward has the game to take his country forward.

Mourinho, speaking an as expert for beIN, watched the Qatari striker fire a brace as Al Anabi crushed arch-rivals Saudi Arabia 2-0 in their Group E encounter at the AFC Asian Cup.

The 2-0 win helped Qatar top Group E and remain unbeaten thanks largely to Almoez’s seven strikes in just three games.

Mourinho, a former Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United coach, said he watched all three matches and found Almoez to be of top quality.

“I watched the other two games and I think this boy Almoez is agile. He moves fast (and) he is cool in the face of the keeper,” Mourinho said while reviewing the team’s performance.

“He plays at an interesting level and who knows in the next couple of years, this boy could be playing in another league so that he becomes more competitive. He is young, he is 180cm (in height) and that’s a good size,” the vastly experienced Portuguese coach said is his comments after the match.

“The objective of this kid is to play. If Qatar wants him to be better, then they need him to be playing in a better league. He is an important player. He needs to go to a competitive league and not playing all the time. That’s the balance you have to find.

“I think he is a good player. (Former Qatar player) Mubarak Mustafa was telling me that Almoez plays many times from the wings. I didn’t know this. I think in this kind of football that they (Qatar) are trying to play, sometimes it is good to have a striker who has wings connection (gestures flying motion with his hands),” Mourinho said.

“If you don’t want a target man (in your side), then it is better to have somebody like him. So you need a player who can adapt. It is good to have that philosophy. If Qatar national team are playing like this, drop the players back, create some space to take the speed of the opponents,” Mourinho, known as ‘The Special One’, added.

Mourinho said he was impressed with the potential of 2018 Asian Player of the Year Abdulkareem Hassan’s tactics.

“I like number three (Hassan) so much. I think with the qualities he is showing, with three players at the back, he plays in the wing more. (He is) defending as a left-back which gives him more freedom to bring the ball into attacking position. I like his quality very much. So I am positively surprised with the quality of (Qatar’s) game,” Mourinho said.

Earlier in the tournament, Qatar beat Lebanon and North Korea before hammering Saudi Arabia on Thursday. Amoez struck once in each half to power Qatar to a 2-0 win.

Mourinho said he was the one to reach match stats while analyzing teams.

“Sometimes stats show contradiction with the reality of the numbers. Team with more (ball) possession is losing, the team with less (ball) possession and with a goal still looks in control. Qatar looked solid and moved the ball quite well,” Mourinho said.

Excerpts from Mourinho’s detailed chat with beIN host Mohammed Saadon Al Kuwari who was joined by former Qatar player Mubarak Mustafa.

THE NEXT QATAR COACH:

You already have a coach (smiles). So there is no secret about him. Let’s not talk about it because everybody knows who it is going to be (smiles). He’s clever and he is organising himself in a way where the job is there waiting for him. (Current coach Felix) Sanchez is working with the team for a long time. He’s heading a process. He has taken young players and taken them to this level, the last 16 (at the AFC Asian Cup) or maybe further than that. His job is done for another manager to get in his place. It’s a process that is going to give (desired) results.

WHAT SHOULD CLUBS DEMAND:

If one day I coach a national team in your area (the Middle East), what I would like is my successor to be a local one. That’s the legacy. You do the work but you prepare people for the future also. You spend a lot of money to bring coaches to your area from other countries. And they come to coach and not to teach! They come to coach and not give information to the local people. I think that’s your fault. I think you have to demand more from us (the coaches).

WHY NATIONAL TEAM MATCHES ARE IMPORTANT:

I think there are times when national team matches are more than a normal football match. If Argentina play Uruguay or Portugal play against Span or England play against Scotland – it doesn’t matter if it is a friendly – it can be very interesting. So my question to Qatar and Saudi Arabian fans is: does this match means more than finishing first or second in the group? It means a lot for your ego, it means a lot for your self-esteem. If yes, then it can be a fantastic match. If the answer is no, then it can get boring to watch.

QUEIROZ AND FERREIRA ARE LIKE TEACHERS:

Let’s say – in a hypothetical situation – if I come to Qatar then I have the duty not to do my job (in a routine matter) at my club, (or) with my national team, or the ones you coach at clubs here. You the employers) should demand from them more influence and more information. You look at this list of (Asian team) coaches and you see three of them have played Champions League finals. (Iranian coach Carlos) Queiroz – who is one of the best Portuguese coaches ever – is not just a coach, he is a teacher just like Mr (Jesualdo) Ferreira who is at Al Sadd here. He has the same kind of profile. There are so many others – who are not just with national teams but with the clubs – they should have influence with the local people (where they coach). We (the coaches) are call colleagues. Coaches are coaches. It doesn’t matter if you are considered A class or B class. We are all colleagues.

AL SADD HAVE A VERY GOOD COACH:

When I see Qatar players A, B, C or D are very good, I see them that they are from Al Sadd. They are good because Al Sadd have a very good coach. The work in international teams are less than compared to clubs. In the clubs that you develop the players. The work in the clubs is very important. I know Al Sadd coach is very, very good in developing young players.

COACHES SHOULD DO MORE:

When you (the coaches) go to another country, you must put yourself available and you should demand more from them. How long does a coach work per day? There is a time when we spend time in training and then there is time when we spend time preparing for match. Don’t you (the coaches) have one minute in a day to think of the development of local players? The coaches, they come and then go home and they take your money. I think they should give more (effort) here. So it should be your responsibility to get more. You (two fellow experts) know more about Asian football. I need help from you (pointing at them). You need to help me because you know more than me. So if more coaches are coming here, so you (local clubs) need to take more (expert help and assistance) from them.

ON HOW HE GOT DIDIER DROGBA TO PLAY AT CHELSEA:

He never forgot that I took him from Marseille. He didn’t start young at that level. He was already playing for a few clubs so when I took him to Chelsea, I remember me (owner Roman) Abramovich asking me ‘who do you want the name for a striker?’ There were top names and I said “Drogba”. He said ‘who is he? Where is he playing?’ I told Mr Abramovich “pay him and don’t speak’. And Didier was iconic player for Chelsea in the Premier League. He was fantastic for (Turkish giants) Galatasary. And when he came back to Chelsea, I told him: ‘you are not number one anymore but I need you here to help me with the team to help with the young guys. He was phenomenal. There are players who have character and personality and they are important from day one.

حافظ المنتخب القطري على صدارته للمجموعة الخامسة بعدما حقق العلامة الكاملة بفوزه على نظيره السعودي 2 / صفر، في المباراة التي جرت بينهما أمس في الجولة الثالثة الأخيرة من منافسات الدور الأول لبطولة كأس آسيا لكرة القدم 2019 بالإمارات. أحرز هدفي اللقاء النجم المعز علي في الدقيقتين 46 و80 ليرفع رصيده إلى 7 أهداف في صدارة هدافي البطولة حتى الآن، وأصبح أول لاعب يسجل سبعة أهداف في نسخة واحدة من البطولة الآسيوية منذ أن أحرز الكوري الجنوبي لي دونج جوك ستة أهداف في نسخة عام 2000.;