We are improving game-by-game says Al Attar

Bangkok,(ST)-Coach Mohamed Al Attar believes Syria are improving with every game after Sunday’s 5-2 win over defending champions Uzbekistan secured a place in the semi-finals of the AFC U-16 Championship,according to AFC reporter.

Striker Abdullah Barakat scored the first hat-trick of the tournament while captain Mohammad Jaddoua and Anas Aji were also on target at a damp Rajamangala Stadium.

And after converting a fifth consecutive AFC U-16 Championship quarter-final appearance into a return to the semi-finals for the first time since 2006, Syria will face Korea Republic in Wednesday’s semi-final.

“We have improved gradually in every match so far in the tournament after making mistakes in the first match and correcting those to ensure the right performance,” said Al Attar .

“We will need to play well against Korea and do our best against a strong team to prove that Syria is not an easy team.

“In training I really have planted into the minds of the players the love to win. Over the last one and a half years that I have been with the team I have encouraged them and motivated them in a way not to lose. This reflects in a positive way as we have a high team spirit and Syria has a lot of energy and enthusiasm.”

Al Attar’s side also secured a return to the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time since 2007 when Syria reached the Round of 16.

“We did not prepare well as we only played one international match against Kuwait, but despite all of this, we have proven ourselves to be a strong team in the competition,” added Al Attar.

“I am happy that my team has qualified for the World Cup after beating a strong team like Uzbekistan. It was a difficult match because of the conditions of the pitch and we were not able to play real football.”

Uzbekistan, who were chasing a third consecutive appearance in the final, struggled to adapt to the testing playing conditions and only had second half consolations from Shokhrukh Mahmudxojiyev to show for their efforts having fallen five goals behind before the hour mark.

“We played our best and we did the best we could. We have played well in bad conditions before, but that was the best we could do,” said Uzbekistan coach Alexander Mochinov.

“All the teams are strong and prepared well and it wasn’t our chance to go to the next round. We tried our best but we did not prepare well.”

M.D