12 Sep 2018
Doha, 12 September 2018. Qatar national football team defeated Palestine 3-0 in the international friendly played at the Khalifa International Stadium match on Tuesday 11th September with Aspire Academy graduates on the scoring sheet. Graduate, Ali Moez scored his second goal in as many matches after his solitary strike produced victory over China last Friday 7th September at the same venue. Another graduate Akram Afifi scored Qatar’s second goal before team captain Hassan Haydos completed the scoring.
A sizeable crowd turned up to watch the game, part of Qatar coach Felix Sanchez ‘s preparation for 2019 Asian Cup to take place next January in United Arab Emirates. In his post-match interview Qatar Coach Felix Sanchez said, "We played a serious match and we dominated from beginning till the end, but in the closing minutes we had some nervous moments that we thankfully didn’t allow to spoil our hard work from the first half. The result is very important as the players made a huge effort and are improving with every game. In October we have two big matches against Ecuador and Uzbekistan and they will give our players a real test too. Sanchez went on to say that he is following the developments of Qatar's opponents in their 2019 Asian Cup group. "In our group, we are following and analyzing closely our opponents Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and North Korea) in Group E.
The Palestinians were over ran in the first half but put up an improved performance in the second half. Palestine will also be in UAE for 2019 Asian Cup finals and will feature in Group B along with Australia, Syria and Jordan. This the second time the Palestinian national team, al-Fidaee, makes it to the Asian Cup Final after they made their debut three years ago in 2015 in Australia.