SANTA CLARA, California – Qatar is readying for their Group B finale against Mexico on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and one of the key members of the Qatar team in this 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup has been MF Ahmed Fathy.
The 30-year-old was not on Qatar’s Gold Cup squad in their debut in 2021, but finds himself in the fold in the current edition for the reigning Asian champions.
Just two games in, Fathy has had the opportunity to experience playing against a team from the Caribbean (Haiti) and another from Central America (Honduras). Up next is a chance against a North American side in Mexico.
The Al-Arabi player is enjoying his time in this Gold Cup and has found the competition to be quite stiff.
“It’s totally different than competitions that I’ve played before, like the Asian Cup. We had a lot of experience in our country and in our leagues, but here what I saw with the atmosphere, the stadiums, the way that teams are playing, we are taking all these benefits that we had in two very good games against Haiti and Honduras,” said Fathy in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
“It was a high level of football, very aggressive. For me, personally, I have gotten a lot of benefits. And this competition, to be honest, I didn't expect that it would be like this, but it's really tough.
“The way they play, it’s different football than what we are used to. For me, it's really good that we are here to represent our country and we will take it as an advantage for our next competition, and especially the game tomorrow against Mexico, which is one of the top teams in the world,” added Fathy.
By coincidence, Fatehi just so happened to be on the Al-Arabi squad in Qatar’s domestic league that was managed by current Jamaica Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson from 2018-21.
It is no surprise to Fatehi to see Jamaica thriving under Hallgrimsson, citing the strong man management skills of the Reggae Boyz head man.
“If I am going to talk about Heimir, I need to have more time! I worked with him for two years and for me, before being a great coach, he's a great person. I learned from him a lot. He was always telling me that I needed to be on the national team. He always pushing me, always talking to me.
“He's one of the greatest coaches that I've trained with, and I can see now he's doing really well with Jamaica, they're playing good football. I think the players are really happy with him. I wish him all the best and I hope I can face him soon,” concluded Fathy.
