Dubai: Despite going down 5-3 in a friendly against the UAE late on Friday, Qatar coach Abdelilah Benaim insisted his team would not be straying from their objective of booking one of four spots open for the 2012 Fifa Futsal World Cup.
"This was only a friendly match and we needed to see the depth of our team. We made some mistakes and the UAE made us pay for these," Benaim told Gulf News after the friendly match at the Sharjah Youth Centre on Friday night.
"This is all part of the learning curve and we feel confident that the players will deliver when it is most needed," the Moroccan added.
Qatar is among the few nations making their debut at the AFC Futsal Championship that kicks off in Dubai on Friday. Qatar have been placed in Group C along with Australia, South Korea and multiple Asian champions Iran.
Domestic league
"We are aware of the tough group that we have been placed in, but since the past five years we have had a strong domestic league and this team is a mix of youth and experience and I am confident they will make it as one of four qualifiers to the Fifa World Cup in Thailand [in November]," Benaim said.
