Qatar Football AssociationNational Teams | U-23
05.06.2022 4:47 in :

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan: Conceding early goals dented the players’ confidence, Qatar coach Nicolas Cordova said on Saturday after Uzbekistan beat Qatar 6-0 in their AFC U23 Asian Cup clash.  

Coach Cordova insists his team need to make significant improvements in the two contest against Turkmenistan if they are to have a chance of qualifying to the quarterfinals of the AFC U-23 championship currently played in Uzbekistan.

“The early goals we conceded changed the scenario of the match. Those goals had a negative impact on the players and changed our plan for the match today. The Uzbeks made things difficult for us due to their physical presence; they have a bunch of some immensely talented footballers, they a truly stellar performance, ” Cordova said on Saturday. 

“Our team must forget this match and focus on the last match against the Turkmen. We still have our chances to qualify, and we will try to remedy the mistakes we made on Saturday,” he added. 

“I am here to help the players get out of the negative mindset, and we must try to restore our confidence,” he said. 

Cordova refused to write off his team as contenders to advance from the group and indicated that he would prepare the players in the best way, especially from a mental point of view. He said: “After a big loss, players need to be backed all the way so that they deliver a better performance. sometimes football gives you a second chance to right your errors, and we plan on doing so to the best of our ability.”

Qatar have to defeat Turkmenistan on Tuesday to keep their hopes alive, while Uzbekistan face Islamic Republic of Iran, who also need a win after falling 2-1 to Turkmenistan earlier on Saturday.