Lopetegui on Qatar qualification. Ask Italy… and we were affected by the war

Spain coach Julen Lopetegui is preparing for his first World Cup appearance when he leads Qatar’s national team against Switzerland tomorrow, Saturday.

Lopetegui was the coach of the Spanish national team in 2018, but was removed from his position before the start of the World Cup due to negotiations with Real Madrid.

Lopetegui said in his statements to AS newspaper. “Because of what happened in 2018, I don’t have any thorns because football has given me much more than it has taken away from me.”

He continued. “I think it is much more difficult to participate with Qatar, although qualification is always difficult, wherever it is. Ask Italy. The first time they were absent was when they met us in that group in 2018.”

He noted: “We feel a lot of excitement in the Qatar team because we managed to qualify for the World Cup, and at the same time we have a lot of motivation and a lot of desire to be as competitive as possible in this tournament.”

As for Qatar’s chances, he commented: “We want to be a team that believes in what it does and reaches our maximum potential. This is the most important thing. And fearing that they won’t prevent us from participating in the World Cup.”

He emphasized. “The war affected us, it was 3 weeks that no one worked, first because of the month of Ramadan, then for a period, and after that we could not train due to security conditions. Two friendlies with Argentina and Serbia have also been cancelled.

He concluded. “The Qatar group is not easy. Switzerland has been one of the most consistent teams in Europe for the past 8 years. Canada is perhaps the best team in North America right now and has outplayed the USA and Mexico in recent years. Bosnia beat Wales and Italy.”