PORTO ALEGRE: Argentina coach Lionel Scalloni applauded the performance of Qatar players, saying the young boys ‘exhibited strong character’.

On Sunday, Asian Cup champions Qatar lost to former World Cup winners Argentina 2-0.

“Of course we did a good job, and the players in the middle and in the attack made very big efforts, and we took control early but then the Qatari team showed up and tried to put pressure on us in the middle,” Scaloni said after his side’s 2-0 win.

“In the second half, the performance was better and we managed to correct some mistakes to win,” he added.

The coach of Argentina added: “If the Qatari team had scored the equalizer, it would have resulted in our exit, but we continued to focus and tried to find a balance, especially when the rival was controlling the course of the meeting in some cases. We had to try address their attacks and prevent them from reaching our goal.”

He added: “The Qatar team is respected and played very good football and faced opponents without fear.”