Qatar were phenomenal against DPR Korea on Thursday, with Garcia's side showing the form that saw them winning back-to-back AFC Asian Cup™ titles.

 

The win was Garcia's first in the AFC Asian Qualifiers since taking over as head coach and the Spaniard has urged his players to keep pushing, despite Qatar only having an outside chance of qualifying automatically.

 

"We need to focus on the upcoming encounter against Kyrgyz Republic, which will be extremely important. We have no choice but to win to keep our hopes of qualifying automatically for the World Cup," said Garcia.

Kyrgyz Republic's debut at this stage of the AFC Asian Qualifiers has been a valuable learning experience with the Central Asian side holding their own despite only having three points to their name.

 

Sitting seven points behind United Arab Emirates and Qatar, Kyrgyz Republic have to win their remaining three matches if they are to stand a chance of advancing to the playoffs, where another two tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be available.

Venue: Dolen Omurzakov Stadium (Bishkek)

Kick-off: Tuesday, 19:45 (UTC+6)