Marquez Lopes, the manager of Asian Cup hosts Qatar, said he is not looking beyond his side’s semi-final clash with Iran on Wednesday.
The defending champions squeezed past Uzbekistan with a 3-2 penalty shoot-out win in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham was the hero at Al Bayt Stadium, the Al Sadd man saving three penalties after 120 minutes of action could not separate the two teams.
Hassan Al Haydos’ 27th minute goal had put the Qataris in front before Odiljon Hamrobekov levelled 13 minutes into second half.
But Qatar’s Spanish coach Lopes said his team won’t start dreaming of reclaiming their crown just yet as they face Iran in Doha for a place in Saturday’s final.
“Our goal is to always win, one match after the other and we’ve given everything we’ve got in this short period,” said Lopes. “We believe reaching the semi-final is an achievement, but the mission is not accomplished yet.
“We still have two matches and we want to give everything we can in these two matches, but we’ll take it one match at a time.”
Barsham’s three saves were the difference between the teams in the shoot-out with Uzbekistan, with the goalkeeper denying Rustamjon Ashurmatov, Zafarmurod Abdirakhmatov and Jaloliddin Masharipov to allow Pedro Correia to score the penalty that took Qatar through.
“Since the beginning our goal has been defending the title, but we’re not thinking about that," said Barsham. "It’s one match at a time. The atmosphere in the team is positive and this is what is making us united. We’re like a family.”
Lopes's opposite number Amir Ghalenoei believes his team can kick on to bigger things after their 2-1 comeback victory against Japan in the quarter-finals.
Team Melli came from a goal down at Education City Stadium to defeat the Samurai Blue thanks to two second-half goals from Mohammad Mohebi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh to reach the last four of the tournament for the second time in a row.
Iran lost to Japan 3-0 in the semi-finals of the previous edition in the UAE in 2019.
And Iran coach Ghalenoei said: "This match can be a turning point for Iranian football, not just for the senior national team, but also for the U23s, U19s and the whole football set-up.
“I think everybody should have the belief in Iranian people. We had a lot of great Iranian coaches in history who never got the chance to coach in Europe.
"If we want to have a higher standard of performance, we should have a long-term plan, infrastructure, stadiums and most importantly the support of the authorities in Iran.”
In the other semi-final, South Korea, who beat Australia 2-1 on Friday, and Jordan, who overcame Tajikistan 1-0, meet at Al Rayyan's Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday.
South Korea's win over Australia came almost nine years to the day since they lost to the Socceroos in the 2015 final in Sydney.
But Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min, who scored the extra-time winner on Friday, insisted his focus was on keeping South Korea on track to lift the Asian Cup rather than getting revenge over the Aussies.
“I wouldn’t call it revenge,” Son said. “But, yes, 2015 was painful, it really did hurt. We had a very good chance that day and I was one of the players who was really disappointed with the result.
“Today wasn’t about the last game in 2015, it was about my goal in this tournament and our goal as a team. That was all that was in my head and I’m just happy that we’re one step closer to achieving our goal.”
Scores
Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town
Burnley 1-0 Brighton
Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace
Saturday fixtures:
Chelsea v Manchester City, 9.30pm (UAE)
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur, 11.45pm (UAE)
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If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The%20specs
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