Qatar coach Jorge Fossati will be a relieved man after his team scored a vital victory over Syria in their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. Hassan al-Haydous converted a penalty to help Qatar score their first points of this campaign. The three points also saw them leapfrog China and move into fifth place in the Group A standings.
This win has given Qatar a glimmer of hope and Fossati was thankful to the players for pulling off the win. “We came back into the competition at such a critical time because we had to win and the players were determined to get the victory,” said Fossati after the match.
“We only had a short time to organise ourselves but the players helped me and I’m proud of them. We now need to focus on the 90 minutes of the next game and not all the rest of the matches.”
Qatar play against China next and the Uruguayan is hoping that this victory will work as motivation for the next match. “The win tonight will give us big motivation and I hope we can use this to our advantage in the next matches,” said Fossati.
Syria coach Ayman al-Hakim praised his team’s efforts despite the loss. “We played a good match despite the defeat,” said Syria coach.
“It was a good performance in the first half but we conceded a goal from a mistake and such things happen in football,” he added.
Syria with four points from their four matches so far are currently fourth in the standings and al-Hakim believes that his team stand a chance to qualify for the finals. “We still have a chance to qualify and I believe the group is complicated because all the teams have a chance.”

We needed this win: Saad al-Sheeb
“We needed this win. Now we have a chance of moving ahead. As you saw we were playing a side that plays physical football,” al-Sheeb said after a tense game

In-form goalie Saad al-Sheeb celebrated his team’s 1-0 win over Syria, saying the victory came at the ‘right time’.
“We needed this win. Now we have a chance of moving ahead. As you saw we were playing a side that plays physical football,” al-Sheeb said after the tense 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying game.
“We missed a lot chances to score. Thank God they didn’t score. They too had chances to score. We had chances to score as well,” he said.
About the friction in the game, the Al Sadd goalkeeper said: “You get to see these things in football. It’s all gamesmanship. The second half was better for both sides. The game was open. The free-kick was the most dangerous chance for Syria.”
He added: “They changed their approach also in the second half when they dropped one defender and retained three players at the back.”

We are motivated to carry on the good work: Yassir
“The best three points of the qualifying season for us. We are motivated to carry on the good work”

Senior defender Ahmed Yassir said his side will work hard to retain their winning form in the coming games following their 1-0 victory over Syria.
“I am very happy. We played really well. We created chances. We wasted a lot of chances also in the first half. This is the best three points of the qualifying season for us. We are motivated to carry on the good work,” Yassir said after the game.
He added: “There was a bit of hesitation between me and Sebastian Soria as we missed chances to score. Every game is hard. We are prepared to play hard in the coming games also.”
“These three points really matter. We should learn from our mistakes. There was a lot of pressure on the players. But we are happy now,” he said.