Qatar will play to win, says coach Sanchez

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Sunday, January 14th 2018 06:32 PM

CHANGZHOU: Unbeaten Qatar is confident of a win against hosts China on Monday when the two sides meet in an AFC U-23 Asian Cup clash.     Group A leaders Qatar, who just need one point to secure a quarter-finals berth, have beaten Uzbekistan and Oman in their two matches so far.     "We will approach the game as if it was a final," Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said on Sunday.     "If we can now get a result against China, it would give us even more confidence going into our next game (in the quarter-finals)," Sanchez added.     "To qualify for the next round would be a good achievement, but I think finishing first gives you confidence because you will have finished top of a very tough group," the Spaniard said when asked if the team would settle for a draw.     "I believe that in a long competition like this, confidence is important, because over the course of 90 minutes you can be the first or the last team," he added.     Sanchez said on Sunday China remain a major threat despite losing to Uzbekistan last week.     "We know that China are a very strong team and we will plan well for the match, just as we did for the other two teams in the group,” Sanchez said.     "China have shown over the course of their two games, even during their defeat to Uzbekistan, that they have talented players and are very well organised," he added.     China coach Massimiliano Maddaloni said on Sunday: "We need to have confidence because we are growing up as a team. We need to face our next opponents, who are Qatar, in a positive frame of mind."     When asked to comment about the defeat against Uzbekistan on Friday, Maddaloni said: "As far as we are concerned, we need to reflect on the result of the game against Uzbekistan in a positive manner."