The Spanish expressed, Marquez LopezQatar coach expressed his regret after the defeat suffered by Al-Annabi at the hands of the UAE national team in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The Qatari team suffered a surprising defeat at the hands of UAE national team Three goals to one, in the match that was held on Thursday evening at the “Ahmed bin Ali” stadium, in the first round of the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Qatar coach promises compensation
Qatar coach Marquez Lopez said after the match: “We did not wish for this result, a good start and a one-goal lead. We did not succeed in maintaining our lead in the second half and we feel sorry for receiving this loss.”
The Qatar coach added: “The chances in the group are still there, and we have nine matches left in the qualifiers, and everything will change in them in terms of calculations and chances to qualify.”
Lopez continued: “We aim to make up for it and get back on the right track starting from the next match in the second round against North Korea in about five days, and we have to enter this match with the goal of winning in order to collect the three points.”
Lopez stressed that he did not delay in making changes in the second half, especially in light of the team’s control and possession of the game, praising the efforts of all the players as they worked hard to achieve the desired result; however, luck was not on their side in that.
He pointed out that all the players worked hard during the match against the UAE national team, stressing that mistakes are possible in football and the national team conceded two goals due to losing the ball in the back lines.
He concluded his statements by saying: “I have confidence in the players’ ability to do their best and appear at the required level to achieve victory starting from the next round.”
The Qatari team will head to Laos to meet the North Korean team on September 10 in the second round before hosting its Kyrgyz counterpart on October 10, then heading to Tehran to face its Iranian counterpart on the 15th of the same month.
It is noteworthy that the teams that obtain the first and second places in each group qualify directly to the World Cup finals, while two other seats are available to qualify through the play-off competitions (fourth round) of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, with an additional opportunity available to qualify through the global play-off.
