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A big punch in the face: Qatar coach

Xinhua, January 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Qatar coach Djamel Belmadi called his side's lopsided loss to the United Arab Emirates "a big punch in the face".

UAE defeated Qatar 4-1 in Group C opener at the AFC Asian Cup on Sunday.

Khalfan Ibarahim opened the scoring for Qatar in the 22nd minute, but Ahmed Khalil made it equal in the 37th. Khalil put UAE 2-1 up in the 52nd second.

The 24-year-old Ali Ahmed Mabkhout secured UAE's success with two goals in the second half.

Belmadi took his hat off to the opponents.

"They showed more quality, more creativity. They scored from two free-kicks which really put us in a bad position," said the Algerian.

The coach was not so satisfied with goalkeeper Qasem Burhan.

"He made two mistakes but this is football," said Belmadi. "In the previous competition, he was the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Today, was not his day ... but the defenders also did not help him."

"We were focused. We have to look and have to search for the reason for losing this game," he added.

UAE remains in Canberra to take on Bahrain on Thursday, when Qatar plays against Iran in Sydney. Endi