MANAMA, Bahrain: Qatar coach Oscar Cano wants his team to adopt an
attacking game against Japan on Thursday when the two sides meet in
the AFC U-19 Asian Cup.
Qatar drew 1-1 against Iran on Friday followed by 1-0 win against Yemen
two days ago.
“I’m not happy with the efficiency from our attackers but the
important thing is that we are creating chances,” said Cano.
“I full trust in our three strikers, Abdulrasheed, Hassan (Ahmad)
Palang and Sayed (Issa) and if they keep on working, the goals will
come.
“Japan are a different opponent to the teams we’ve faced so far, they
have another style of play that makes their senior team one of the
favourites to win the Asian Cup.
“We will try to make them uncomfortable on the pitch and make sure
they don’t have as much possession as they’d like.
“It will be a nice game despite the pressure because both teams are
playing for qualification".
Meanwhile, Japan, who have finished runners-up on six different
occasions but have never won the tournament, are keen to recover from
a gritty goalless draw against the IR Iran on Monday.
“Of course we wanted to win and get three points against Iran but
we’re okay with a draw” said coach Atsushi Uchiyama.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game but before the tournament
began, I was predicting that we would need to play all three games to
decide who would qualify from this group.
“This game against Qatar will be decisive so I need to decide which
are the best eleven players for my team, taking into consideration the
conditions and fatigue. I am open to changing some players".
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