Qatar will continue to progress despite exit

Mohammed Muntari scored Qatar’s first ever goal in the tournament, but it proved to be the only bright light with each of Boulaye Dia, Famara Diedhiou and Bamba Dieng all striking as the African champions came out with the win, although they had to withstand a barrage of Qatari attacks when they were 2-0 up.

Qatar’s elimination was confirmed later on Friday following a 1-1 draw between Netherlands and Ecuador.

“We are aware of how tough this competition is, we wanted to go far but we have some limitations in our country,” said Sanchez., who led Qatar to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup title.

“We play in a local league, but we have made a great effort. Expectations were to give good performances and organise a good World Cup. Most of the opponents are ahead of us but the players performed very well. Some moments we managed to compete.”