West Bank: Coach Abdel Nasser Barakat insists Palestine have no intention of taking their “foot off the gas” in Tuesday’s meeting with the Maldives despite qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup already being secured.
The penultimate outing in Group D will allow Palestine to celebrate their second consecutive AFC Asian Cup Finals appearance with their fans at Arab American University Stadium after October’s 10-0 home win over Bhutan made it four wins from four games for Barakat’s charges.
The 2014 AFC Challenge Cup winners top the table with a three-point lead over second-placed Oman, who have also already confirmed qualification with two games to spare ahead of their trip to Bhutan.
“We have secured our place in the Finals, but there is no place to take our foot off the gas. We want to continue our campaign in the qualifiers with the same spirit that we started with,” said Palestine coach Barakat.
“We are preparing the national team very well and therefore we started preparing for the match against Maldives directly after the end of the match against Bhutan.”
Palestine lost all three of their group stage games on their AFC Asian Cup debut in Australia at the start of 2015, but having eased through the qualifiers to date and - after conceding just one goal - Barakat’s side will look to continue their current run of form to boost their chances in the United Arab Emirates in 2019.
Maldives are out of the running for a place in the AFC Asian Cup 2019.
“We prepared well for the match against Maldives and we will be going into the match just like we do for any other important matches,” said Palestine goalkeeper Ghanim Mahajna after the Maldives lost 3-1 to Oman in October, failing to add to their solitary win over Bhutan in Group D.
“The players know that it is an important match and we will be giving all our best to win. I hope that all the fans will be ready to support us in the match and we will dedicate the win for them.
“We have a clear aim which is to continue winning despite the fact that we have secured our place in the Asian Cup finals.”
Oman take on Bhuan at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu looking to close the gap on Palestine at the top of the table, with the pair set to meet in the final Group D outing in March.
That meeting in Muscat will give Pim Verbeek’s side the chance to avenge June’s 2-1 away defeat by Palestine, although first Oman must focus on a Bhutan side who have yet to pick up a point in the final round of qualifiers.
“We are not taking Bhutan lightly even if we have qualified,” said Verbeek. “Bhutan are a different team at home and we are looking forward to an exciting game.”
Oman are also assured of a second consecutive AFC Asian Cup Finals appearance, having failed to progress beyond the group stage in Australia despite beating Kuwait.
“We prepared for the match with a camp although we didn’t play any friendly matches because of the league schedule. The remaining two matches are very important and we should give our best,” said Oman team manager Maqbool Al Balushi.
“Our main aim is to finish on top of the group and this means that we should win the next two matches.
“Therefore, the match against Bhutan is very important despite that we have already secured our place in the finals.”
Bhutan began the final round with a 14-0 defeat in Muscat, and will be looking for a marked improvement in front of their own fans in their last home game of the final round of qualifiers.
“We will be playing for pride and we have prepared strongly for our home game,” said Bhutan coach Pema Dorji.
“Oman are a very good team who are strong. We hope to put on a good show.”
Photos: AFC
Source: the-afc.com