The Asian Cup kicks off today with the host nation, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Qatar-c2986 taking on Uzbekistan in a Group A clash.
Qatar will be under huge pressure to deliver a good tournament not just for the whole nation, but for the rest of the world, after the criticism aimed at the Middle Eastern nation when they won the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
Manager, Bruno Metsu will be looking to help Qatar win the opening game against Uzbekistan and the game will surely be a tightly contested one.
Many people around the football world are still angry at FIFA’s decision to give the 2022 World Cup to Qatar and all eyes will be on the team and the tournament, looking for more excuses to complain.
Although the Asian Cup isn’t as prestigious as other continental tournaments in the world, the whole world will still be watching the show-piece event so Qatar will have to put in a strong show in every single game in order to silence the critics, who have
been overly cynical about the prospect of the nation shouldering this huge responsibility.
Team Qatar will go into the tournament with a lot of optimism as they had a very decent run in the recent friendly games. In one of those games, Qatar surprisingly defeated African champions, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Egypt-c2890 2-1.
Bruno Metsu has a great CV and a great understanding of how to make a team perform on big occassions- something he has proven in the past as he lead Senegal to a spectacular journey in the FIFA World Cup in 2002, during which they beat the World Champions,
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Japan-c2928 and South Korea, Metsu will definitely be looking to further enhance his reputation as a big-game tactician.
Uzbekistan have a team that has proven to be a great attacking unit for a few years now. After coming close to qualifying for the World Cup in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Uzbekistan-c3037 will be looking to kick start the Asian Cup campaign with a victory.
Former AFC Player of the Year, Server Djeparov will be the key to an Uzbek attacking lineup that includes some really exciting players like http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Maksim-Shatskikh-c23231.
The Uzbek team is used to play in freezing temperatures and many pundits in Asia suggest that it will be a tough thing for the Uzbeks to cope with the different climatic conditions in Qatar. However, the team's manager, Vadim Abramov, who has been with the
Uzbek side since last April, has insisted that his players are more than ready to cope with the climatic conditions in Qatar and they are aiming for nothing less than the title.
The match will be a morale setter for both teams as they will go on to play against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/China-c8926, who are slowly becoming an exciting attacking side.
It might be safe to say that both sides might be satisfied with a draw, but Qatar have to get all 3 points if they want to prove a point to all the cynics.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sebastian-Soria-c32777, Qatar’s most recognizable player, will be expected to deliver the goods this time. The Uruguayan born striker hasn’t been firing on all cylinders recently, but his return to form will be the greatest hope for Qatar if they are to progress
in the competition.
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