Qatar coach hits back at FIFA World Cup bribery allegations
The national team coach of Qatar, Felix Sanchez, has rubbished suggestions that the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been ruined by allegations of bribery.
The FIFA World Cup this year has been marred by controversies ranging from human rights violations and claims that they ‘bought’ the rights to host the tournament.
Qatar are in Group A alongside Senegal, Netherlands and Ecuador. They will play the first match of the tournament against “The Tricolors” on Sunday afternoon.
They have been regarded as underdogs in all three matches. But Sanchez has refused to focus on off-field controversy as an excuse for his players not to perform.
The Spanish-born mentor insists that his team is unaffected by speculation over the integrity of the World Cup.
QATAR SQUAD UNFAZED
“I think there is a lot of disinformation. The internet is a great tool, but it is also very dangerous from my point of view,” he told the media ahead of the match.
“For many years, we’ve been preparing, training. We are together. We are strong and cohesive. Nobody will be able to destabilise us with this criticism, so we are not affected at all.
“We are very excited, motivated and happy to be playing our first World Cup. There is a focus on how to prepare for the game, to control our emotions. We don’t take anything else into account,” added Sanchez.
“The best thing that can happen to a team or a footballer is to keep calm and avoid any sort of rumours and noise around you.
“Obviously, we don’t like people criticising our country. In terms of football strictly, we had great preparation ahead of the World Cup. All the players come here with the highest motivation and emphasis. We will try to give a good performance and try to be competitive.”
The match will kick off at 18:00 at the Al Bayt Stadium.
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