Coach Jose Daniel Carreno has urged football fans to turn out in large numbers when Qatar take on Uzbekistan in their World Cup qualifying clash tomorrow at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Qatar crashed to a 2-0 defeat against Iran in their first Group A match last Thursday and need to get their campaign back on track by securing three points in tomorrow’s home game.
The Uruguayan, who saw his team concede two injury-time goals in front of a 100,000-strong partisan crowd at Tehran’s imposing Azadi Stadium, is keen to make the most out of Qatar’s home advantage, a major portion of which comes from the support of the home fans.
“I want the supporters to turn out in large numbers and support the national side,”  said the former Al Arabi coach.
Although the capacity of the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium is less than a quarter of the 128,000 spectators Tehran’s Azadi Stadium can hold, the coach cheering supporters can definitely spur the team.
“Fans can lift the morale of the side,” added the Uruguayan.
Carreno stressed that the players are in good spirits defeat the defeat against Iran. They fact that they dominated the match against Iran has led the players to believe they can get the better of Uzbekistan tomorrow.
Uzbekistan have a better head-to-head record against Qatar, winning six of the 11 matches they have played so far. Of the 11 games, Qatar have won only three while two were drawn.
Of the last five matches between the two countries, Uzbekistan have won four, including a 5-1 drubbing in June 2013 in a qualifier for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
But under Carreno, Qatar have made rapid progress, with the players gelling as a team and also showing better physical fitness.
“We have urged the players to forget past results and look forward to the challenging match ahead of us against Uzbekistan,” adding that he didn’t have any injury worries ahead of the match.
Like Qatar, Uzbekistan, too have never qualified for the World Cup.