Doha, December 05 (QNA) - The Spaniard Julen Lopetegui, coach of the Qatar national team, expressed his dissatisfaction with the draw result against Syria in today’s match in the second round of Group A at the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025.

In his statement during the post-match press conference, the Qatar coach said the match was extremely difficult, and that the team wasted the win in the final minutes after Syria scored the equalizer at the end. He said the opponents played well, and that Qatar could have sealed the victory had it taken advantage of the chances created.

Lopetegui criticized the refereeing crew’s decision not to award a penalty to Qatar following a VAR review of a fall by Homam Al Amin in the penalty area after direct contact with Syrian defender Zakaria Hanan. He said the refereeing decision in this situation was unfair.

He added that the team must correct its situation and address mistakes to be stronger in the future, and said he was pleased with the performance of some players, such as Isa Laay.

Asked about Qatar obtaining only one point from two matches, Lopetegui said the team defended well but wasted many chances and scored only one goal, and that it will try in the third match to avoid what happened and regain balance.

For his part, Spain’s Jose Lana, coach of the Syrian national team, expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance and the point earned against the host Qatar, to jointly hold the lead of Group A alongside Palestine with four points.

In his post-match statement, Syria's coach said he was proud of his players because they made a great effort, especially defensively. He said they managed to keep possession, and that with a player like Omar Khribin you can create anything in a match. He added that all players showed great spirit and that he was satisfied with the performance.

Regarding the team’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals, he said their goal is to improve the performance, that the squad includes many young players who need more international matches, and that they have gained significant experience in this tournament. He said Syria will play strongly against Palestine as it did against Tunisia and Qatar, with a desire to continue in the competition.

For his part, Syrian forward Omar Khribin expressed satisfaction with his team’s display in the match. He said the next match against Palestine at the end of the group stage will be the path to the quarter-finals. He added that they played a strong home team in front of their crowd, well prepared, and that Syria succeeded in closing defensive spaces and playing realistically.

The Al Wahda (UAE) striker praised the leadership of Spanish coach José Lana, confirming the ideal atmosphere within the Syria squad under his guidance.

Khribin concluded by saying that the team has a young squad alongside some experienced players, and that their goal is to present their best for Syria. He stressed that the award for best player in the tournament is not important to him, as his main concern is the national team and achieving results that satisfy the fans. (QNA)