Qatar’s Boualem Khoukhi and Argentina’s Sergio Aguero struggle for the ball during the Copa America tournament group match at the Gremio Arena in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on Sunday.
Coach Felix Sanchez on Sunday admitted his side lacked experience against top side like Argentina but added his young boys will look to ‘getting positive results’ in the future.
On Sunday, Asian Cup champions Qatar lost to former World Cup winners Argentina though Al Annabi restrained feared Lionl Messi from playing a free flowing game.
Sanchez said after his exit from the Copa America 2019 that his team “made mistakes, perhaps because of lack of experience” at crucial moments in their three games.
“We may have lacked the great experience at crucial moments, and yes, these games were very demanding for us,” Sanchez told a news conference after the 2-0 loss to Argentina.
“In addition to the feeling of regret, we are aware that we must continue to work to compete and get better results in the next edition of Copa America,” Sanchez said.
Qatar will make another Copa America appearance next year along with Australia, the other invited team to the world’s oldest tournament.
The coach said his team conceded two goals due to “small errors”.
Striker Lautaro Martinez scored a goal in the fifth minute with a direct pass from the Qatar defender.
“We firmly believe that competition in these tournaments is the way to improve, gain experience and the to achieve right level to fight these teams,” Sanchez said.
“The overall performance of the team and each individual player was very upscale, we leave with the feeling that we were able to compete well,” Sanchez added.
Qatar shared points with former champions Paraguay in a 2-2 draw and then conceded a late goal against Colombia in a 1-0 loss.
Meanwhile, Argentina coach Lionel Scalloni applauded Qatar’s strong character
Scaloni praised the performance of Qatar players, saying the young boys ‘exhibited strong character’.
On Sunday, Asian Cup champions Qatar lost to former World Cup winners Argentina 2-0.
“Of course we did a good job, and the players in the middle and in the attack made very big efforts, and we took control early but then the Qatari team showed up and tried to put pressure on us in the middle,” Scaloni said after his side’s 2-0 win.
“In the second half, the performance was better and we managed to correct some mistakes to win,” he added.
The coach of Argentina added: “If the Qatari team had scored the equalizer, it would have resulted in our exit, but we continued to focus and tried to find a balance, especially when the rival was controlling the course of the meeting in some cases. We had to try address their attacks and prevent them from reaching our goal.”
He added: “The Qatar team is respected, and played very good football, and faced opponents without fear .. Like No. 11 and 19, it has drawn a very theoretical level.”
