Before the last game against the Netherlands, Qatar coach Félix Sánchez Bas defends himself against criticism of the hosts’ early exit. “Of course we would like to be in a better situation, but we shouldn’t lose perspective. We’re in a small country with 6,000 licensed footballers. We will be better in the future than we were at this World Cup,” said the Spaniard on Monday.
After defeats against Ecuador and Senegal, Qatar have no chance of progressing. At the end of the group phase, Qatar meets the Netherlands on Tuesday (4:00 p.m. CET/ARD and MagentaTV), who want to qualify for the round of 16 as the winners of Group A.
This is how the hosts performed at world championships
2022 | Qatar | Out after group stage (vs. Senegal, Netherlands, Ecuador)
They will try to keep up with the Netherlands, said Sanchez Bas. However, the 46-year-old also pointed out that the opponent is the eighth best team in the world and is more likely to focus on the learning effect for his players. “It will be a good finish for our team,” said the coach, who leads the squad with the lowest squad value at this tournament – 14.9 million euros.
The former youth coach of FC Barcelona did not want to comment on his future, but said with regard to football in Qatar: “We are now closing a chapter and beginning a new one. The country wants to keep investing in football and we want to qualify for the next major tournaments.” Only two host countries have been eliminated from World Cups after the group stage.
World Cup 2022: The participants sorted by squad values
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