Thani not taking Tashkent tie lightly

AFC – DOHA, Qatar coach Fahad Thani has vowed that his side will be giving 100% in their final 2014 World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan even though the 2011 AFC Asian Cup hosts are out of the reckoning for a place in Brazil.

Qatar go into Tuesday’s match in Tashkent fourth in Group A with seven points with one match left to play and are four behind the Uzbeks who need to beat the Persian* Gulf side and hope the table-topping Koreans defeat second place Iran if they are to qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup.

Speaking to the Qatar Football Association’s official website prior to their trip to Central Asia, Thani (pictured) said:

“For us this is an important game and we are playing to win this match.

“We have a few absentees but we have decent replacements and the players have a responsibility to do their best. I will be looking for a top effort from the players.”

Qatar’s slim hopes of at least finishing third and having a chance to qualify via the playoffs ended earlier this month when they lost 1-0 at home to Iran but Thani will not be taking his foot off the gas particularly with the resumption of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers later in the year.

“We have some important matches coming up,” he continued.
“The friendly we played against North Korea [which ended 0-0] helped the players to get the Iran match out of their system.”

* Geographical term corrected by PFDC