Qatar feel 'no pressure' heading into crucial Canada matchup

[p]Qatar began their campaign with a ‌[a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/qatar-zqzHL77i/switzerland-rHJ2vy1B/?mid=C8oCpXiA"]1-1[/a] draw against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/switzerland/rHJ2vy1B/"]Switzerland[/a] in California, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/canada/x4toKORL/"]Canada[/a] ‌also were held 1-1 by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bosnia-herzegovina/fqe7WYTr/"]Bosnia and Herzegovina[/a] in their Group ‌B opener in Toronto. Group B is finely balanced, ‌with all four teams on one point.[/p][p]Qatar, with a population of around 3.17 million, arrived at the tournament seeking to improve on their ‌only previous World Cup appearance, when they ⁠hosted the 2022 edition and ‌finished bottom of their group without a point.[/p][embed guid="e8de3562-a904-4699-83f0-599ac6a725f0" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2065903363208699984?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"The word pressure is ​not in our mind,"[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lopetegui-julen/joAFj9hO/"]Lopetegui[/a] told reporters on Wednesday. [b]"When you follow one dream, you're never under pressure. ​You are with a big ambition, big excitement, because we achieved one thing that never happened in the history of ⁠Qatar, which was to ​stay here.[/b][/p][p][b]"I think that it's (Qatar) one little country, but with a big passion, a big investment in the facilities, about how we have to improve every day,"[/b] he added.[/p][p][b]"Now we are ‌not thinking about what we did against Switzerland, what was the past. Now we are only focused on being able to face one strong team."[/b][/p][image alt="Canada-Qatar win probability" id="34dd91ee-7b82-43d7-bbab-5d20c54986b7" credit-line="Opta via StatsPerform" guid="954d0e3b-a5bb-4218-bb86-adf79152a2fd" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]With a squad drawn largely from their domestic league, Qatar have developed a cohesive team who have proved formidable in Asia.[/p][p]They no longer carry the intense scrutiny that surrounded the 2022 tournament, though back-to-back Asian Cup titles and a favourable group have raised expectations.[/p][p][b]"It was ‌the first time with a lot of pressure," [/b]midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hatim-abdulaziz/WAErHFjJ/"]Abdulaziz Hatem[/a] ​said. [b]"Maybe we didn't have the experience, but now we ‌are here. We have the experience. We are ready.[/b][/p][p][b]"We will see tomorrow what will happen. But I hope we play a good game and continue making history. It's difficult, not easy for sure, ⁠but I think we ⁠are able to do ‌it,"[/b] he added.[/p]