Mohammed Waad.
Jakarta, Qatari midfielder Mohammed Waad yesterday said that his team can still win the AFC U-19 Championship despite losing the opening match against United Arab Emirates .
The Group A result on Friday has left the Bruno Miguel-coached side in a precarious position, with another loss to host nation Indonesia today potentially spelling the end of their challenge for a second Asian U-19 title, but Waad believes Qatar’s story is only just beginning.
“(Against United Arab Emirates) we played a very good match and performed very well,” said the 19-year-old, whose precise corner kick led to Qatar’s goal in the 3-1 defeat.
“We were a bit unlucky. We created chances but unfortunately the result wasn’t the one that we wanted and we hope that in the next match we will do better.
“For sure, we are very confident that we can still qualify, and I hope that even winning the trophy is a possibility for us.”
For a budding talent still yet to turn 20, Waad has already experienced a lot on his football career. He made his QNB Stars League debut as a 17-year-old for the Al Sadd club in the 2016-17 season, before making the move to Spanish Segunda Division B outfit Cultural y Deportivo Leonesa this August.
While the youngster is becoming increasingly well-travelled, he admits that he has never played in an environment like the one that awaits the Qataris today, with a boisterous home crowd expected to cheer Indonesia on at the Gelora Bung Karno. But, far from being overawed, Waad says he welcomes the experience.
“I’m sure it will be a good thing for us, as an experience in this upcoming match,” he explained.
“We haven’t played in front of this amount of fans before, but we hope we can use it to put on a good performance and represent the country and Qatari football in a good way.”
