Doha: Qatar, the hosts of the AFC Asian Cup 2023, will face Tajikistan on matchday 2 at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday evening, with a chance to secure a spot in the Round of 16 with a game to spare. Also, it would be the first time for Qatar to make it to the knockout stages in consecutive tournaments. For their part, Qatar were aggressive right from the start of their match against Lebanon, and they earned every bit of the victory they got. The Maroons have scored three or more goals in four of their last five games. Although this was Tajikistan's first-ever match at the Asian Cup, they showed no signs of being intimidated as they kept China on their heels for a large chunk of the first match for a goalless draw against China. "We're going to enter this match to achieve a victory," said Lopez. "They are a difficult opponent, but we have studied them and know they have speedy players who can pose a threat. "From the first day, I've said that we have to take it one match at a time, we want to lead, and we want to go to the second round; that objective hasn't changed." "We have to use all the tools to score as early as possible, but the most important thing is to be prepared and ready for the match. "Of course, we all think about the games to come in the next Round, but we must focus first on the next game. If we win, we may win the group, then we'll see who we might get in the next Round." Tajikistan will take inspiration from the fact that they have not lost to a side from Asia since June 2023 (5-1 defeat to Uzbekistan) and have not been held off the scoresheet in consecutive matches since playing a pair of 0-0 draws in November 2022 (versus Russia) and March 2023 (against the United Arab Emirates), they have also never been able to put it across Qatar except in a friendly. In their four previous encounters with Tajikistan, Qatar have won three and have yet to be held scoreless.