13 Jan 2020
Bangkok, 12 January 2020. In their second game at the AFC U23 Championship in Thailand, Qatar drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia in Group B to leave both sides firmly in contention to reach the competition’s quarter-finals.
Goalkeeper Mohammed Al Bakri was one of many Aspire Academy graduates on the pitch that represented Qatar on this day. In his opinion, the race for the knock-out stage is still open. “Of course, we wanted to show a different face today than in our game against Syria three days ago, when we received the equalizer in the last minute. We started the game with a high spirit, everyone of us worked hard and we did everything to get the three points.”
“Losing today was not an option for us. Of course, a win would have been better, but the game was quite balanced and as a result of that it ended 0-0. Now it’s up to us to give our best against Japan to get a win and make it to the knock-out stage. It’s going to be tough, but we are not scared of anyone. In the end the teams that deserve it the most are going to make it to the next stage.”
With one game each still to play, the result sees Saudi Arabia move to four points following their defeat of Japan on Matchday One, with Qatar – in the wake of their draw with Syria – two points adrift of their regional rivals.
Qatar complete their group stage fixtures on Wednesday when they face Japan, while Saudi Arabia will tackle Syria on the same day.