(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Rizwan Rehmat / The Peninsula
Hosts Qatar will go all out against Syria today when the two sides meet in the final match of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifying event, coach Felix Sanchez said.
Group leaders Qatar on Friday beat India 1-0 to post their second successive win in the four-nation qualifying event being played at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
On Wednesday, Qatar crushed Turkmenistan 2-0 to open their campaign on a positive note. A win against Syria today will secure Qatar a berth at the finals to be played in China.
'Our focus is only to qualify for China, Sanchez said after his team's hard-fought win against India.
'We are a quality side and I trust my team to deliver the goods in their last match, Sanchez added ahead of today's match.
'We will have 90 minutes to get the result we seek. These boys are ready to give their best. We won't spare any effort to reach our target. That will be the target from this game, the long-serving Qatar coach said.
Sanchez added: 'We could not qualify for Rio (Olympics) and if we don't qualify for China that would be disappointing. So we are ready to give our best.
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez reacts during a training session in this file photo.
Sanchez said Qatar won't take Syria - who beat India 2-0 in their opening game on Wednesday - lightly in their clash under lights at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
'Our rivals are strong. We don't take them lightly. They are a capable unit but meeting them will be relatively easy because we are ready to play tough, Sanchez said.
The Qatari coach was pleased after his Olympic squad beat India who are coached by Stephen Constantine.
'We had 90 minutes to win this game and we did well in patches. I am happy with the result. We deserved this win, Sanchez said.
'It was a tough match but we got all three points. India played a tough game and we didn't play our game. In the second half, we had some good moments but in the last 20 minutes, we had a tough time, Sanchez said.
'Our aim is to ensure qualification in the next game. Syria have very strong potential and it's going to be a tough game against them.
'It was a tough match against India. This win has given us three points despite a strong resistance from India. This match was different from the first one but both were extremely tough.
'In general the first half was tough but in the second half, we performed slightly better to win the match. This will strengthen our resolve for the last game. It will boost us to give a stronger performance, Sanchez added.
India coach Constantine - who saw his side exit the event with two losses - said: 'Congratulations to Qatar. They were fortunate to score a goal. I am proud of my players. Some of the boys were playing international football for the first time and they didn't deserve to lose this game.
He added: 'We lost because of another silly mistake. Another day, it would have hit the crossbar and gone inside (about India's chance). They have shown fantastic determination.
India will play Turkmenistan today.
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