AFC Asian Cup: Former Qatar international Lami wants the team to rise to the occasion

Bengaluru, January 28: As Qatar gets ready to take on the hosts UAE in the AFC Asian Cup semifinal on Tuesday (January 29), former international Adel Lami has exhorted the team to rise to the occasion.

FIFA 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar shocked South Korea 1-0 in the quarterfinals en route to reaching their first-ever AFC Asian Cup semifinal.

The loss was only South Korea's second in 21 Asian Cup matches and their first to Qatar, ranked 40 places below them in FIFA's official standings, since 1984.

And Lami, who won 21 caps for Al Annabi from 2005 to 2014, spoke passionately about his pride for the national shirt, calling on Felix Sanchez's players not to take their opportunities for granted.

Coach Felix Sanchez hails ‘historic’ Qatar victory! #AsianCup2019 pic.twitter.com/cmnByqiRMf

— #AsianCup2019 (@afcasiancup) January 26, 2019

"For me, every player who wears Qatar's crest on his chest, is excellent and deserving. Every player who wears it will be capable of carrying that responsibility," Lamy told AFC.

"At the same time, my message to them is: If you wear that crest, you should know your responsibility. You should know that there are a lot of players who shed tears hoping that they would be able to wear this jersey.

"So you've been handed this opportunity and your role now is to represent the people. The same is true for other countries as well," added Lami.

Qatari entered the last-four with the confidence created by what remains a perfect campaign, including three wins in a row against Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Korea, all of whom are former champions.

Lami believes Sanchez's side is rich in talent, but maintains their real strength lies in their collective mentality.

"The current team has some excellent players," he said.

"What's great about this current generation is that whichever Asian team they play against, regardless of their strength, they go into the game knowing that they are capable of defeating this team.

"They've the maturity to deal with the big and important games."

Dwelling further on his own personal commitment to the Qatari cause, Lami recalled the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, where he appeared in all three of his side's group stage matches.

Then 21 years old, he sustained an injury which would ultimately keep him out of top-level football for over a year, but even now, Lami says that extraordinarily hefty price was one worth paying.

"We played well in this (2007) tournament, especially in the game against Japan. We drew that game and it was one of the best matches I have ever played at the international level," Lami recalled.