Doha: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa praised the distinguished performance of Asian teams in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
He expressed his sincere wishes for the teams of Australia, Japan and South Korea to continue with their success and brilliance, especially having broken a historic record whereby three Asian teams qualified for the Round of 16 for the first time in the history of the World Cup.
Shaikh Salman said in a statement published by the AFC’s official website that the Asian football family stood together in support of the three teams.
The AFC President also praised the distinguished levels presented by all six Asian teams during the group stage, including the teams that were knocked out of the competition in the first round, after having given impressive performances against some of the best teams in the world.
He continued that a case in point would be Saudi Arabia and Japan’s playing against Argentina and Germany respectively in the group stage. Both teams presented a resilient character and succeeded in overturning their delay in scoring, to finally succeed in giving football fans all over the world a strong comeback that is considered among the most prominent in World Cup modern history.
Shaikh Salman added that Japan repeated the act against Spain, booking their qualification ticket to the Round of 16 for the fourth time, while Australia achieved their second victory for the first time in the history of their participation in the World Cup.
The AFC president said South Korea were able to beat Portugal in the third round for a historic achievement of having three Asian teams in the Round of 16 for the first time.
He said the Korean Football Association deserves all appreciation for its efforts to develop the game at all levels.
Shaikh Salman remarked that Qatar performed fairly well in their first appearance in World Cup finals, in addition to Iran who proved themselves by winning against Wales in the second round.
He added that the AFC’s vision and mission framework in 2016 focused on the clear ambitions to ensure that Asian squads possess the appropriate conditions and capacities to compete, in world-class AFC championships, as well as to present themselves in the best manner during international tournaments, with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 serving as a proof of Asian football’s evolution.
He also praised the successful conclusion of group-stage competitions, expressing his confidence that the tournament will continue to leave a clear mark in the realm of football.
He said the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and Qatari authorities, along with FIFA, have done an exceptional job so far. He also expressed his confidence that they will continue to organize a great tournament as time passes.
Source: QNA
