HOUSTON, Texas: Qatar’s Spanish coach Felix Sanchez applauded his team for a fighting show, saying he is satisfied after a 3-3 draw against Panama in the Gold Cup opener in Houston on Tuesday. The Asian champions, playing in the championship for teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean as part of their preparations for the 2022 World Cup at home, took the lead three times but were pegged back by the Panamanians. The game in Houston was delayed by nearly two hours after a severe weather warning. Sanchez said: “First of all, a beginning of the tournaments is always difficult. We went ahead three times, but our opponent managed to claw back into the game. We have to work to correct our mistakes. But in general, I am satisfied because the players did their best in the match and the draw is a good result to start a tournament. Although the Panamanian team initially tried to close the spaces, we managed to create opportunities to score,” the Spaniard added. “We committed many defensive mistakes that made us concede three goals, so we have to work more during our remaining two matches to correct these mistakes,” the Spaniard said. “Despite the defensive errors that appeared in this match, I am confident that we can overcome them in the upcoming matches, and one of the good things that happened in the meeting was to show the team that it does not give up, as evidenced by the fight back we showed on three occasions,” he added. The Panama coach stressed that his team faced a strong Qatar team with good players in attack. “I knew we were facing a strong opponent in Qatar. They were good in attack, especially with their speed and this is why we conceded three goals. I was not surprised by the strength of their attack,” Christiansen said. With a point apiece, Qatar prepares for Grenada, while Panama’s next test will be Honduras.