Qatar Football AssociationNational Teams | First Team
19.12.2021 14:20 in :

DOHA: Qatar’s Spanish coach, Felix Sanchez, expressed his happiness after Qatar beat Egypt in the third-place play-off battle at Stadium 974.

Keeper Mashaal Barsham emerged as a hero saving two penalties out of six as Qatar beat Egypt 5-4 in a sudden-death penalty shootout.

“Winning third place is the best gift for the people of Qatar,” Sanchez said on Saturday.

“Today’s win was achieved on Qatar’s National Day so it is very memorable,” he added.

“We are proud of what we have achieved in this tournament,” he added.

“The tournament was a good experience for us, and its benefits are many. It was an official competition, and we played with teams from across the region. This is the best preparation for us for the 2022 World Cup. Unfortunately, we did not reach the final, but we proved that we could play with any team,” he said.

He pointed out that his side’s intention going into this tournament was to prepare ahead of next year’s World Cup, praising the 2022 World Cup stadiums, which exhibited “Qatar’s readiness for the tournament a year before its launch”.

Meshaal Basham’s heroics from the spot ensured Qatar beat Egypt 5-4 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes at Stadium 974 to secure third place in the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021.

Both teams had chances to win the game in regulation time, with Almoez Ali missing a glorious opportunity and Qatar’s goalkeeper producing a stunning Man of the Match performance. The Al Sadd youth graduate in his first match in the competition made several vital saves capped by a clutch performance in the shootout to seal Al Annabi’s place as the third-best team in the competition.