(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Doha: Former England player Paul Parker has said that Qatar can make a resounding statement when they host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, saying the ‘Al Annabi’ have already showed their potential in the qualifying phase for Russia 2018.
It is almost seven years since former England and Manchester United defender Parker moved to Asia.
With the continent set to stage its second FIFA World Cup in Qatar six years from now, the man who set up Gary Lineker’s equaliser in the 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-final defeat to Germany believes that the Qatar national team can make a resounding statement to the world.
Singapore-based Parker made 105 appearances for Manchester United and 19 for England, six of which were in Italy’s 1990 FIFA World Cup.
He told www.sc.qa that beginning with the upcoming third round qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, ‘Al Annabi’ can set the target of becoming the leading football nation of the Middle East. “Everyone in Asia knows that Qatar will organise a great World Cup in terms of provision of infrastructure and facilities. But, as a football man, I feel that nothing will make a lasting global impression like the national team’s performance in the tournament,” said Parker, who has extensively coached and undertaken media work in the Asia Pacific region.
Parker continued: “Qatar have already announced their intentions by topping the group in the second round qualifiers for Russia 2018, losing only the final game after they had secured the top spot. They should now fight it out against Iran and South Korea in the third round. Booking a berth to Russia will be a huge step towards ensuring that the country is on the verge of being recognised as one of the leading footballing nations of the region going into the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A few people in other parts of the world will still moan but their voices will be drowned out.”
Parker compared Qatar’s situation with that of the United States in 1994.
“The USA were not the whipping boys of Group A in that tournament as was expected,” he said.
“Instead, they defeated Colombia and made it out of the group. They are now emerging as a major footballing nation with talented youngsters across elite European academies. Qatar can emulate this. In fact, it has a historical advantage in that football has been the main sport.”
Parker, a two-time Premier League winner with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, said choosing the right coaches at the youth and elite levels will be key for Qatar’s emergence as an Asian power.
“The decision makers of Qatari football have shown they are not averse to spending big,” he said.
“This is important because the best talent comes at a price. Qatar should take a detailed look at Japan and South Korea, who had spent big on youth development in their clubs and domestic leagues in the years leading to the first ever Asian World Cup in 2002.”
“They were targeting sustained growth and had evolved a distinct development strategy and got the right people to implement it. They also continued with the vision after 2002, thereby ensuring continuity,” he added. So in 2022, could an Asian team emulate South Korea’s achievement of reaching the semi-final in 2002?
“I sincerely hope so as I have been living on the continent for a while now,” said Parker.
“However, irrespective of whether this happens, what I am sure of is that for a World Cup to be successful it does not have to be hosted by a European or South American powerhouse. The two best goals in the tournament’s history have both been scored in Mexico – the perfect team goal by Pele’s Brazil in the 1970 final against Italy and the magical solo run by Diego Maradona in Argentina’s 1986 quarter-final against my country, England.”
Parker says living in Asia has given him a different perspective on the classic 1986 quarter-final played exactly 30 years ago this week at the Azteca Stadium. “It is sad that Maradona’s second goal did not get the accolades it deserved in England because of the first ‘Hand of God’ goal,” said Parker.
“In Asia, things are different though. Maradona is a cult figure in many parts of China and India, even three decades after scoring that truly amazing goal.”
Parker continued: “I could also have played against Maradona in the 1990 final if fortune had smiled on us in the penalty shoot-out against Germany. Who knows, we could have won our second World Cup title and I might even have been able to swap shirts with the greatest player of my generation. And I would have had one more story to tell in China and India to add to my popular Manchester United ones.”
Instead, England are still awaiting their first major title since Bobby Moore’s team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup™ and Parker does not expect the situation to change any time soon.
“England are not going to win Euro 2016 if the coach continues to make the decisions he did against Slovakia. There was no need to inexplicably rest key players. England should also adopt a more direct approach. Possession alone means nothing if there is no real threat in the final third,” Parker concluded.
The Peninsula