CHANGZHOU: Coach Felix Sanchez on Tuesday said his current lot of players have shown the promise to form the nucleus of a formidable team in the future. Sanchez was speaking following his team’s semi-final loss against Vietnam in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung emerged as the hero for Vietnam in a penalty shootout after both teams were locked at 2-2 in regulation time in the tense semi-final at Changzhou Sports Centre.

“As Qatar players they never give up and I am sure they are going to do very well in the future. I believe they will do just that,” Sanchez said after the match on Tuesday in which Akram Afif and Almoez Ali scored for Qatar in regulation time.

Ali ended the tournament with 6 goals to his name to showcase his superb temperament in top-flight football.

“We hope that the players will look back and realise that they had a good tournament. In football, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Today, it was our turn to lose, but I am pretty sure they are going to continue (to grow),” Sanchez added.

“It was a very tough game against a very good team,” Sanchez said.

Vietnam coach Park Hong-seo said on Tuesday: “This result against Qatar is a result of my players sweat and effort. I told all my 23 players to put up a tremendous fight and that they should not disappoint the people of Vietnam. They did not let them down.”

He added: “This was a very tough game and my players knew its importance and we prepared very well for it.”