Qatar national team star, best player and top scorer in the Asian Football Cup, Akram Afif, revealed the reason for his celebration in a funny way during the final match in which he scored a hat-trick that led Al-Anabi to beat Jordan 3-1 and retain the title.
Afif said in the press conference after the match, “What I did was for the sake of my wife, who holds Kuwaiti nationality and was watching my first match here.”
Afif was holding up a paper showing a drawing of the Joker and on the other side the letter “S,” which was his wife’s first letter.
Afif, whose three goals came from penalty kicks, said, “I am more happy with the victory than with the hat-trick. I cannot describe my feeling in words. What has been achieved is not easy, and we owe that to the coach.”
He talked about the possibility of becoming a professional again in the European continent after he had experience in three clubs and said, “I am willing to do so. The decision is not easy. It is related to my decision, the decision of my wife, the club in which I play, and the federation to which I belong.”
As for Spanish coach Marques Lopes, he said, “Very happy for the Qatari people, for the players and for the technical staff. It was a difficult match. There was tension. The match may not be at a high level, but everyone remembers only the winner.”
Regarding the possibility of him continuing at the head of the apparatus after the Qatari Federation used his services only about 40 days ago to replace Portuguese Carlos Queiroz who was dismissed from his position, he said, “At the present time, I will return to Al-Wakrah Club, where I work, and I have not talked about the future with anyone.”
He revealed that during the coronation ceremony, “I thanked the Emir of Qatar for the trust he gave me. I took over the training of the national team on December 24, so the period was short.”
He praised his players by saying, “The players implemented our ideas and understood our plans in a short period, and the credit goes to them.”
As for Jordan’s Moroccan coach, Hussein Amouta, he said, “Unfortunately, the course of the match did not go as we wanted. We were not focused and committed some mistakes. We played with great confusion at the beginning.”
He added, “The second half was better for us and we succeeded in returning the result. But the timing of the second penalty kick was harsh on us.”
He continued, “In general, I congratulate the players who played a high-level tournament and gained respect, and the team developed excellently.”
He continued, “The team has risen to a higher level, and we must continue to develop its technical level.”
As for Jordanian national team defender Ihsan Haddad, he said, “We must not forget everything we did because of the 90 minutes in the final match, especially since we were playing against the defending champion and the host.”
He added, “We apologize to our fans, who have been a great support to us. We fell short today, but we promise them that the next will be better.”
He praised the coach who “implanted in us greater strength and ambition and we became more confident.”
2024-02-10 20:20:13
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