FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2019 Four previous meetings in the AFC Asian Cup have produced one win for each team. Qatar won the first encounter, defeating Japan 3-0 in the Blue Samurai’s first appearance in 1988, before a 1-1 draw in Lebanon in 2000, a result which was repeated in Hanoi seven years later. ASIAN CUP 2019 FINAL Japan won the most recent meeting 3-2 in the quarter-final in 2011 in Doha QATAR VS JAPAN (5 PM) ASIAN CUP 2019 FINAL: Rising Al Annabi ready for the Blue Samurai test Qatar to keep up their quest for excellence as the Cup beckons AFC ABU DHABI Team stays HEAD coach Felix Sanchez be- focused lieves success in Friday’s AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 final against Japan would represent as UAE an historic achievement for his talented Qatar side. cries foul The West Asians head into the eagerly anticipated show- DPA down at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed ABU DHABI Sports City Stadium looking to claim their first-ever AFC COACH Felix Sanchez is con- Asian Cup title, while their op- centrating on the most “im- ponents stand on the brink of Coach Sanchez’s belief portant game in Qatar football winning a record-extending history,” when his side meet fifth Continental crown. “The players are determined to get the victory we want Japan in Friday’s Asian Cup fi- Having seen them shine by putting in one more huge effort against Japan so that nal rather than worrying about brightly throughout the com- we can make the Qatari people happy once again a UAE appeal over the eligibil- petition, Sanchez believes his and make history. We know Japan have several strengths ity of his players. charges are now ready for and a few weaknesses, so we will need to be excellent “If we get the result that one final push as they look throughout the game in order to achieve the win we want.” gives us the trophy it will be to make history for the West the biggest thing in (our) foot- Asian nation. ball history,” the Spaniard told reporters on Thursday. STATS FACTS A potential distraction is the United Arab Emirates JAPAN FIFA world ranking: 50 appealing to the governing Ranking in Asia: 3 AFC that the Qataris have Previous Asian Cups: 8 used ineligible players during Best: Champs (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011) the tournament, including in 2015: Quarter-finals Tuesday’s semi-final 4-0 win Nickname: Blue Samurai over the hosts. Coach: Hajime Moriyasu Top scorer at 2019 Asian Cup: Yuya Osako (4) “I’m not concerned at ROAD TO THE FINAL all ... no worries about it,” Group F (First) Sanchez said. Japan 3-2 Turkmenistan; Japan 1-0 Oman “We’re here one more day, Japan 2-1 Uzbekistan tomorrow we’re playing one Round of 16 Japan 1-0 Saudi Arabia game and only focused on the Quarter-final game,” he added. Japan 1-0 Vietnam “Any other thing that’s not Semi-final related to the football point Japan 3-0 Iran of view is not related to our QATAR minds at this moment.” FIFA world ranking: 93 Ranking in Asia: 13 The UAE allege the Previous Asian Cups: 9 21-year-old Rawi and 22-year- Best performance: Quarter-finals (2000, old Ali have not met residency 2011) requirements to be eligible. 2015: Group stage whether the protest might Nickname: The Maroons act as motivation for his play- Coach: Felix Sanchez Bas Top scorer at 2019 Asian Cup: Almoez Ali (8) ers: “My players need no more ROAD TO THE FINAL motivation than to play an Group E (First) Asian Cup final.” Qatar 2-0 Lebanon; Qatar 6-0 North Korea FIFA requirements man- Qatar 2-0 Saudi Arabia date that a player switching Round of 16 Qatar 1-0 Iraq national teams must either Quarter-final qualify through their parents Qatar 1-0 South Korea or grandparents or have resid- Semi-final ed in a country for five years Qatar 4-0 United Arab Emirates . after their 18th birthday. Sanchez said beating four- “This is definitely the times champions Japan on most important game in Qa- Friday would be the biggest tar’s football history” said the achievement in the game for Spaniard. the host nation of the 2022 “We are now obviously at (From left) Japan captain Maya Yoshida & head coach Hajime Moriyasu, Qatar skipper Hasan Al Haydos & head coach Felix Sanchez with the Asian Cup 2019 trophy at the Zayed World Cup. the stage of the tournament Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on eve of the final on Thursday. (AFP) Win or lose, however, where the team is in a confi- Sanchez and Qatar will return dent mood and looking for- “The players are deter- sive record throughout the no surprise to Sanchez, who against the very best in Asia,” everyone in Asia, and it is not a to Doha to great acclaim and ward to starting the game. Ob- mined to get the victory we campaign – they have scored revealed that Qatar’s stellar declared the Barcelona native. surprise to me that we are here not just because of victories viously if we win the trophy, it want by putting in one more 16 times and are yet to concede performances have already “We have had six games as we already knew the quali- over their local political rivals. will be Qatar’s biggest achieve- huge effort against Japan so – sees them face the Japanese helped achieve one of their and six different stories, there ties of our players.” “It doesn’t matter what ment in terms of football. that we can make the Qatari as distinctly worthy finalists. pre-tournament objectives. has been pressure during the “The game against Japan is happens tomorrow, we’re very “Hopefully, we can have people happy once again and With wins against previous “When we arrived to play in group stage and then even now another story for us. Japan proud of them,” said Sanchez. one more good performance. make history.” champions in the form of Sau- the AFC Asian Cup, our target more pressure during the have great quality and have won The coach is still with- One of the key things for us is Qatar’s appearance in the di Arabia, Iraq and South Ko- was to test ourselves against knockout phase. We trust the the AFC Asian Cup many times. out injured defender Hamid that there is a great team spir- latter stages of the competition rea already racked up during everyone, to be able to com- team and believe in them. However, we are ready (for the Ismail but Abdelaziz Hatim it, everyone is working togeth- has surprised some observers, UAE 2019, his side’s presence pete against all the teams here, “We came here with the challenge) and will play in a way and al Rawi are back from er to achieve the same result. although Al Annabi’s impres- among Asia’s elite has come as and to be able to hold our own hope that we could challenge to negate the threats they have.” suspension. Captain Haydos urges teammates to remain cool and calm AFC enter the decider in rare form, The Qatari captain is a play- ABU DHABI a status further underlined er of rich experience, racking by their stunning 4-0 defeat up over 100 senior caps despite QATAR captain Hasan al Hay- of hosts the UAE in the semi- What will make the being just 28 years old, and dos has urged his teammates final on Tuesday. difference is the physical tasting AFC Champions League to remain composed and pa- Their sudden success has and mental readiness glory with Al Sadd back in 2011. tient as they chase a first ever to led enthusiastic celebra- of the two teams. “There are no words to AFC Asian Cup title in the final tions back home, but their on- describe what playing in the against Japan on Friday. field leader says his side must Hassan al Haydos final means to me. It is defi- Under head coach Fe- remain composed if they are to nitely very important to us as lix Sanchez, Al Annabi have take the final step to becoming make no difference as we are a team,” he declared. stormed into the decider with Asian champions. playing in the final and this is “Also, I have played nearly six successive wins, and a sev- “What will make the differ- the most important thing for us. 130 games for the country (in- enth at Zayed Sports City Stadi- ence is the physical and mental “I think the most impor- cluding youth football) and it um will write an unprecedented readiness of the two teams,” tant thing in the game is to is the most important match chapter of success into the foot- said Haydos, who will join You- remain calm, everyone will be I will have played in. Hope- ball history of a nation that had nis Mahmoud, Makoto Hasebe excited, but remaining calm fully, we can get the result we never previously progressed and Mile Jedinak as recent AFC is crucial. Everyone must be want and win the title. We can beyond the quarter-finals. Asian Cup-winning captains if patient and put into practice promise our fans that we will With 16 goals scored, and successful on Friday. what the coach tells us. deliver our best performance none conceded, in the tourna- “Japan may have had one “We must be highly fo- and make them happy as we Qatar captain Hassan al Haydos (right) with coach Felix Sanchez Bas at the Asian Cup 2019 pre-match ment so far, Al Haydos’ side more day to rest, but this will cused and patient.” did in previous games.” conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Thursday.