Lopetegui: Asian Cup postponement was not in any team’s interest
Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui said his team was ready to face Australia and South Korea in friendlies on 13 and 17 November, noting that the matches would allow the coaching staff to assess players and prepare for upcoming commitments.
Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui said his team was ready to face Australia and South Korea in friendlies on 13 and 17 November, noting that the two matches would allow the coaching staff to assess players and prepare for upcoming commitments.
Lopetegui said postponing the Asian Cup finals by a year had affected the plans and preparations of the participating teams, and considered the decision to be in none of their interests, given that they had prepared their programmes for the tournament based on its previous date.
He added that the team would benefit from the international break to try out and assess players, strengthen cohesion between the team’s lines, and develop its technical and tactical aspects. He also said that facing Australia and South Korea would test Qatar’s ability to deal with different styles of play and help identify areas requiring more work.