Murad Al-Masry (Abu Dhabi)
The Tajikistan national team, which our national team is facing in the second round of the Asian Cup, may have been unknown to football fans in recent years, but it has recently turned into a prominent name on the Asian scene, as the most developed team and on a successive upward streak.
After booking his place in the Asian Cup for the first time in its history, he succeeded in reaching the second round, in addition to his strong start in the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup when he embarrassed the Jordanian team, and was close to defeating them before conceding the equalizer in stoppage time.
The team is called by several names, including “Children of the Highlands,” and it relies on the “Croatian-German” coach Peter Siegert, who took over the job in 2022, and succeeded in clearly leaving his mark, whether with technical rigor or morale through his constant interaction with the fans. He spread their enthusiasm in all the matches, and perhaps the most famous of them was the clip of his celebrations with the fans who were present on the stands of Al Nahyan Stadium, in the match that ended in a goalless draw against “Al-Abyad” in March of last year.
The coach not only led the team to technical development, but also won a title for the first time in its history, after excelling in the tournament that brought together the teams of Malaysia, Thailand, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Siegert is still relying on his usual style, 4-2-3-1, by focusing on controlling the midfield by increasing the number of players, and trying to overcome the technical differences in front of the competitors through quick counterattacks, knowing that he has led the national team in 22 matches so far. It won 9 times, tied 9 times, and lost 4 times.
Our team defeated its Tajik counterpart 3-2 in a friendly match held in November 2020, with the goals scored by Ali Mabkhout (two goals) and Ali Saleh, before a goalless draw in March 2023.
#sons #highlands #developed #Asian #continent