Spanish coach Marquez Lopez, the coach of our national team, confirmed his happiness with the players’ performance during the preparations in the past days to face Uzbekistan tonight in the fifth round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.
Coach Marquez Lopez said during the pre-match press conference that was held yesterday evening in the press conference hall at Al Sadd Club, “I am happy with the players’ performance in the preparations because we know very well the importance of the match for us during the qualifiers, which must at least be in second place in the group in order to qualify for the World Cup, and for that reason everyone We are in a state of great concentration, and we must redouble our efforts and hope to achieve victory because in football it is not always easy to win, but we are well prepared for the match.”
He continued, saying, “Football is not mathematics. We must win if we want to qualify for the World Cup. We must fight in the match and hope that things will be in our favor, and we will continue to fight until the last breath of the qualifiers.”
When asked about the defensive problem facing Al-Anabi by conceding 10 goals so far in the qualifying campaign, he said, “We are indeed facing a defensive problem, after we conceded 10 goals, and this is due to us being in a real crisis in the defense line due to some injuries, and therefore we worked well in training on the side.” Defensively, we can avoid the mistakes and difficulties that we faced in the last period, and I have great confidence in the players.”
He continued his speech, saying, “The players realize the importance of the match and we must play with 200% spirit. In the past matches, we played 15 matches and achieved victory in 11 matches. Indeed, we faced some difficulties in a number of matches, but in the end, players are human and mistakes happen, and we must address them well.”
When asked about the Uzbek national team, he said, “The opponent is one of the difficult teams. It does not concede many goals, plays in the same group, and has distinguished players, especially the trio in attack. They witnessed the extent of the suffering we faced in the Asian Cup until we reached penalty kicks. I will not change my style and ideas in the match, and we studied the opponent well.” We know the weaknesses well because we know the difficulty of confrontation and how important victory is.”
He continued, saying, “Since the first day in the Qatari national team, I have been playing with the same thought and style, and the players know that. We faced difficult and strong teams like Iran, and sometimes we possessed possession and sometimes we did not succeed. Those who ask me to possess a lot look at Real Madrid and Manchester City, who do not possess much possession, and therefore I say it again. I will not change my style and my ideas. I took over the training of the Qatari national team a few days before the start of the Asian Cup. However, the players understood my style and we trained well and we are moving at pace. “Fixed.”
Vlado Radmanović: A very difficult task lies ahead of us
Katanic, the coach of the Uzbek national team, suffered a health problem that prevented him from being present at the press conference last evening. Instead, Vlado Radmanovich, the assistant coach, spoke about Uzbekistan’s preparations for the match.
He said at the beginning of his talk about facing our national team, “Tonight’s match is very difficult and we expect it to be strong. A very difficult task awaits us, and it is important for the two teams in their journey during the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. You will see a strong and enjoyable match.”
He added, “We are well prepared for the difficult match. We know the Qatari team well and we saw all their past matches in the qualifiers. We also played against them in the last Asian Cup and we know them well. We have the experience to deal with such matches. What is important is that we do not lose, and this is what we will work for to continue.” Positive results of the qualifiers.
The assistant coach stressed that his country’s team is in a difficult group and every team seeks to achieve victory, and some simple details or one mistake may change everything, and therefore we must play with a high spirit to achieve a positive result, which is what we are seeking in today’s confrontation against the Qatari team.
He continued his speech by saying, “In Uzbekistan, we have a good and strong league, and there is great development every year. This is one of the reasons for the development of the Uzbek national team, and therefore at this time we can play well against any opponent we face.”
Muhammad Waad: There is no alternative to victory
Mohamed Waad, our national team player, stressed the importance of tonight’s match against Uzbekistan in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
He said, “Today’s confrontation is very important for us, and the three most important points in the qualifiers, and God willing, we will achieve them and win the full mark, and make our loyal fans happy. We are at the peak of readiness and will work to implement the instructions of the technical staff, stressing that all players have a great and clear desire to come out with the three points.”
He added, “Focus is required tonight in order to achieve our goal, which is to win, and it must be 200%.”
Waad sent a message to the Qatari fans who will flock to the Championship Stadium today, and said, “We hope to make the fans happy by achieving the victory and to celebrate, God willing, the victory after the confrontation, and we hope for their presence and strong support.”
Otabek Shukurov: The Asian qualifiers are different
Otabek Shukrov, player of the Uzbekistan national team, confirmed that his country is fully prepared to meet our national team today in the fifth round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
He said, “We prepared well for the match, and the current qualifiers are different from the continental championships, and we strive to do our best to maintain our position in the group.”
He added, “Indeed, we faced the Qatari team in the last Asian Cup, which was a different type of match, and we lost that time on penalty kicks after the match ended in a positive draw with one goal for each team. However, the current Asian qualifiers are different from other tournaments, and we tried a lot in the past editions in order to qualify for the World Cup.” Therefore, we will work this time to do everything we can to reach the 2026 World Cup.”