The Qatar national team during a training session yesterday. Picture: Fadi al-Assaad

By Joe Koraith/Doha

Qatar will be wary when they face Bhutan today in their 2018 World Cup qualifying match. This AFC Group C encounter will be played here in Doha at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium. Home advantage and the fact Qatar is ranked 95 and Bhutan 164 should make the Annabis overwhelming favourites but playing a weaker team can be a tricky affair and the hosts can vouch for that.
In their last match against Maldives, Qatar were saved the blushes courtesy a 98th minute goal which saw them take three points. Qatar cannot afford to leave it that late and the home team’s new coach, Uruguayan Jose Carreno knows that his team will have to score early to wrestle control of the match.
“Against Maldives we suffered a lot till we scored the goal. That match was a good lesson for us. The bigger teams suffer when they play against weaker teams. Maybe against Bhutan we will suffer too but we will try to score early,” said Carreno during the press conference yesterday.
“We have prepared for this match very well and we know that it won’t be an easy match. No doubt smaller teams sometimes complicate the situation and this we have seen many times at the international level. We have studied the Bhutan team and have seen their strong points and also their negative points and we will look to exploit the latter,” he added.
The 54-year-old is counting on home advantage to work in his team’s favour. “We will be playing on our home ground. The pitch is very good and our players are used to playing here. But the Bhutan team might play better in such a stadium and they might perform better than usual.”
In the short time that Carreno has been in charge, he has held training camps abroad and had friendlies where they had mixed results. Carreno said that it would take time for the team to adjust to his style of play but he was happy with what he has seen so far. And the recent 4-0 win over Singapore will be a good confidence booster. “Since I took the responsibility of the team, there have not been a lot of changes in the players. But the good thing is I know the capabilities of the players and they are at a high level and soon they will develop a style of play,” he said.
“The team’s formation is decided and there will not be a lot of difference to the team that played against Singapore,” he added.
 Qatar player Khalid Muftah also praised the coach’s efforts and said that the team is only getting better. “At present, the coach has been spending a lot of time with us during practice, giving us instructions. And we are trying to benefit from his experience. Our game will get better as we play more games and during this game, I am confident, that we will do better than we did in the past,” said Muftah.
As for Bhutan, they are only focussed on playing to their maximum potential. They have lost their last two games 7-0 and 6-0. Their Japanese coach Norio Tsukitate was quite frank (and funny) when asked about his expectations about today’s match. “I am a human. I can’t predict the future. Qatar is a very strong team in Asia whereas we are only starting out. Our players do not have experience at this level. But we are looking for a good result. That result need not necessarily be a win. But we will give our 100 per cent,” said Tsukitate.
When asked about what the strong points of the Qatar team were, the Japanese coach went the jovial route again. “Maybe during the match we will know the strong points about the Qatar team. Right now my job is to control what I can and that is my players. 90-95 per cent of my focus is on my players. So there is no space in my brain to focus on the opponent’s tactics. I am looking to focus only on my players.”
The weather here in Doha was a major concern for the Bhutan team and Tsukitate felt that it could be a huge factor. “Our players are used to playing 2400 metres above the sea level. So for us the first opponent will be the weather here and the second is the Qatar team.”
In a group that includes China and Hong Kong apart from Maldives and Bhutan, Qatar will need every point to challenge China to the top spot which will ensure automatic qualification into Round 3. While Tsukitate said that he couldn’t predict who would win the group, he feels that Qatar’s definitely one of the strong teams. “I have no idea who will top the group. There are many countries with a chance. Qatar are the 2022 World Cup hosts and they have improved a lot. They are definitely one of the strong teams in our group. We must have respect for our opponents,” he said.
This is a great chance for Qatar to get their second win in this group and collect three points but they will have to score early to calm the nerves.

There’s pressure to qualify, says Carreno
Qatar coach Jose Daniel Carreno admitted that his team is under pressure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
But Speaking ahead of match against Bhutan, the affable Uruguayan said he was confident his team would respond to the challenge. “Yes, definitely there’s pressure but it’s a kind of pressure we enjoy,” he said.
“We think we have enough strong points to enable us to play in the Russian World Cup in 2018.”
Qatar is aiming to avoid becoming the first nation since Italy in 1934 to host the World Cup without ever having played in the finals.  (AFP)