Russia 2018 Asian Qualifiers Final Round: What they said…..

Published on: 02 September 2016

Kuala Lumpur: A look at some of the best quotes to emerge following Thursday night’s Russia 2018 Asian Qualifiers Final Round action.

"I think it’s a wonderful thing to start the third round with a win away against one of the best teams in Asia. I’m very happy for the result and hopefully it gives us more confidence but at the end of the day it’s only one game and one step from ten and we haven’t achieved many things yet even with this win.”
United Arab Emirates head coach Mahdi Ali after overseeing a 2-1 defeat of Japan

"In the second half we scored two, we hit the post, Tomi [Juric] had a very good chance, their keeper pulled off a couple of great saves. All in all against a difficult opponent I thought it was a good start."
Australia coach Ange Postecoglou following his side’s 2-0 Group B win over Iraq

“We played well and we managed to score a goal which was enough for us while our opponents tried to go forward with counterattacks. We finished the match from one chance and this is football at the end of the day.”
A relieved Bert van Marwijk after Saudi Arabia had left it late to beat Thailand 1-0.

"In the last 15 to 20 minutes, it was frustrating to let China back into the game through our mistakes. In the end a comfortable game with us leading 3-0 in the second half became a difficult one. We were going well with 20 minutes left but we switched off and let in two goals. The important point is that we won a tough first game. We have to play well for 90 minutes and not just 70 minutes."
Korea Republic coach Uli Stielike on his team’s 3-2 success against China.

“We wanted to give our fans a win and we managed that. We are happy. I know we made some mistakes in our game and that Syria are a good team, who are well organized and disciplined. My players showed character too. This is the first time Uzbekistan have started the final round of qualifying with a win.”
Samvel Babayan, head coach of Uzbekistan, in the wake of a 1-0 win against Syria.

“We had a very difficult game. It was a tense and highly tactical match. It was obvious that Qatar were looking to take advantage of our weaknesses in the first half, therefore we had a difficult first half. We tried to open up the game in the second half and put Qatar under more pressure. We had better scoring chances in the second half and we really played better during the half.”
Iran’s Carlos Queiroz reflects on Team Melli’s dramatic 2-0 defeat of Qatar.

“We had a big match tonight and the performance was excellent. The turning point was the penalty that we conceded but before that we managed to have a good performance and gave our opponents a hard time. We have improved a lot and we played on the flanks in order to reduce the threat of Saudi Arabia. In football, a small mistake can cost you and hopefully we will learn from this match and change the situation in the next match against Japan.”
Kiatisuk Senamuang remains upbeat following Thailand’s narrow 1-0 defeat in Saudi Arabia.

Photos: Photos: Lagardère Sports

Source: the-afc.com

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