DOHA – Disappointed Qatar fans criticised their team after a second successive defeat eliminated the hosts from the World Cup on Friday when Ecuador’s 1-1 draw with Netherlands ensured that they could not progress.
Qatar lost the opening game of the tournament 2-0 to Ecuador on Nov 20 and, though their performance was better on Friday, they were still on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline against Senegal that left them needing Ecuador to beat the Dutch to keep their hopes alive of making it to the last 16.
“We expected way more from this team, they played a match that was below standards, not as if it was a World Cup game. We wanted to at least enjoy it. It was absolutely shameful,” Qatar fan Emam Abdulrahman told Reuters outside the Al Thumama Stadium after the Senegal game, but before Ecuador played the Netherlands.
“We excused them in the opening match, we said they were stressed as it was the World Cup, and the whole world was there. But today, they disappointed us more than necessary.”
Wearing a maroon Qatar scarf over his traditional white thobe tunic, Abdulrahman Almeri echoed those sentiments.
“It’s a shame, after 12 years of preparation (since getting the hosting rights in 2010) with all the local people and the Arab people waiting.
“In the end, the performance was below average and you don’t even feel that the players had a sense of responsibility,” he said.
“There was no pressure, no spirit. I don’t know what the problem is exactly. I cannot even say tough luck, because we don’t know when we will participate in another World Cup.”
Qatar, who spent over US$200 billion (S$275.1 billion) to stage football’s global showpiece, become just the second World Cup hosts in history after South Africa in 2010 to bow out in the group stage.
Khalid Al Fayad went one step further, proudly wearing a Qatar shirt over his thobe, but he could not hide his disappointment.
“It is very unfortunate because it’s been 12 years in the making, of waiting, people have thought that this is the team that can make history.
“And I can understand the disappointment in a lot of people, and I join them on that too,” he said.
“This whole team should be changed,” another Qatar fan said, without revealing her name.
In the opening match against Ecuador, the 2019 Asian Cup winners did not live up to expectations and conceded twice in the first half in a shaky performance, with lots of fans leaving before the end.
The team may have paid the price for the Qatar FA’s decision not to allow national team players to feature for their clubs in the local league this season and to devote themselves solely to preparations for the big event.
On the eve of the crucial Senegal game, coach Felix Sanchez said the team had already prepared psychologically for the possibility of an early exit from the tournament.
“We are a small country, the smallest to host the World Cup, and we are aware of the fact that we may be knocked out early, but that doesn’t mean the end of the football project,” he said.
“I am confident that Qatar will continue their project to maintain a strong team, compete and qualify for the upcoming tournaments.”
So what is next for Qatar?
They will seek to retain the Asian Cup when they stage the Finals, although no date has been set for that tournament yet after China withdrew as hosts due to the Covid-19 situation.
The question remains though as to whether it is the end of the Qatari football project or just the start. REUTERS, AFP
