Felix Sanchez: "The Uzbek squad is getting stronger. For example, the young guy who recently joined City"

The Spanish coach Felix Sanchez Bas, who led the Qatar national team to the Asian Championship and is currently managing Al Sadd, gave a short interview.

As you know, Felix Sanchez Bas arrived in Tashkent with Al Sadd to participate in the match against Pakhtakor in the 8th round of the Elite AFC Champions League. Yesterday, official pre-match press conferences were held with the participation of the coaches of both teams. After the press conference with the head coach and players of Al Sadd, journalist Abdulvasit Bektemirov asked the Spanish coach a question.

- Mr. Felix, you managed the Qatar national team from 2017 to 2022 and are considered a person who has made a great contribution to the development of football in the country. There are only 4 matches left in the ongoing 2026 World Cup qualifiers. What do you think about Qatar's participation in the qualifiers? How do you assess the chances of Qatar's national team to qualify for the World Cup?

- Qatar is in a bit of a difficult situation right now. After the recent results, it has become difficult for Qatar to qualify directly for the World Cup. I think our national team has a pretty strong squad, but our opponents in the group are also serious teams. There are four matches ahead and we need to collect as many points as possible in these matches. As I said earlier, it is difficult for us to qualify directly in the current situation. It seems much easier to achieve the goal through the play-offs.

Qatar currently has quite strong and excellent players. The last Asian Cup is proof of this, but it is not always easy to qualify for the World Cup.

- Uzbekistan and Qatar will meet again in June. Uzbekistan has lost to Qatar in its last two matches. What do you expect from the final match of the qualifying round?

- This match will be the last chance for both teams, and I don't need to talk about how important this match is. It will be the last chance to qualify for the World Cup, after all. Qatar has a strong squad, and Uzbekistan has too. The Uzbekistan national team has been getting stronger in recent years, and it has become clear what kind of players your country has, especially talented young players. For example, your defender, who recently joined Manchester City. My general conclusion is that it will be a difficult match for both teams. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”