Qatar coach Felix Sanchez downplayed past results when he scored two big wins against the Emirates in 2019, and said his team will try to prove they deserve to reach the Arab Cup semi-finals on home soil.

Qatar, which won the Asian Cup less than 3 years ago, topped Group A with nine points from 3 matches, and hopes to continue victories against its neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, in the quarter-finals on Friday.

🥅⚽️ Hassan Al-Haydos adds the third goal to Qatar national team #Arab_Cup |

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Qatar beat the UAE twice in a row

Sanchez was a coach for Qatar when they beat the Emirates 4-0 before winning the continental title for the first time, and months later, Al Annabi defeated the Emirates 4-2 in the Gulf Cup.

"Past results do not necessarily mean that you will achieve the same results," the Spaniard said. "We have to show on the court that we deserve it. This is a different match in a different tournament and a different scenario."

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He added, "The UAE will try to play at its level and its goal will be to win, and we will try to do the same. The past does not mean anything to us, and tomorrow (Friday) we will try to prove that we deserve to be in the next round."

Sanchez is very happy to reach the quarter-finals with a full mark, but at the same time he realizes the need to fix some mistakes.

"We are proud of the way we reached the quarter-finals," Sanchez said. "We will play again against a team we know well like the last three matches and we need to deal with their strengths and weaknesses."

🥅⚽️ As usual... Al-Moez Ali scores in another tournament #Arab_Cup |

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He added, "As I said before, the group stage is over, and qualifying with nine, 6 or 4 points is not important. This does not give us an advantage over the Emirates. We will try to prove through the match that we deserve to be here."

Sanchez added, "We know that the format of the tournament has become different, either to continue or to leave. We will try to be fully prepared for tomorrow's match. We will strive to achieve a sufficient result to qualify for the next round."

The UAE national team 🇦🇪 almost equalized with a dangerous free kick #Arab_Cup |

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UAE coach nominates Qatar for the Arab Cup title

On the other hand, Emirates coach Bert van Marwijk expected a strong match against Qatar, the host, and told reporters today, Thursday, "I am always looking forward to the next match, and I think and hope that the stadium will be full of fans and they are all homeowners, but this will give experience to my young players."

The Dutch coach added, "I think Qatar is the biggest candidate, as it has been preparing for a long time and they have been together for many years and played against all football schools. For my players, most of them did not play in such a tournament, so it is for many reasons that it is very important to play this match."

🧤 Two amazing saves for the UAE national team goalkeeper 🇦🇪 Khaled Issa #Arab_Cup |

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Van Marwijk stressed that the ideal thing is for the match against Qatar to be difficult, but for his players to succeed at the same time in solving any problems.

"I hope that the match will be difficult and that the players can solve these problems and this is the best scenario," said the coach, who reached the 2010 World Cup final with the Netherlands.

"I'm happy when the field is full...it will give the players important experience. It will be difficult, but this is a situation where there is no easy match and I like to play difficult matches."

The winner of the Qatar-UAE match will play in the semi-final against the winner of another fiery confrontation between Algeria and Morocco.