El Salvador will seek its first ever CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-final berth in Glendale tomorrow.
Lying in their way is Qatar, who joined the tournament by invitation of the confederation.
“We’re convinced that we can achieve this, and that’s what’s important,” El Salvador defender Bryan Tamacas said. “This team has big dreams, and we’re working toward it, but we’re taking it step-by-step, and for now, we’re making good strides.”
El Salvador will be forced into at least one change for the clash, with midfielder Narciso Orellana set to miss the quarter-final after accumulating two yellow cards in the group stage. Orellana has played every minute of El Salvador’s Gold Cup campaign so far.
However, while the coach remained coy about potential changes, he did hint at tweaks in the midfield beyond just replacing the suspended player.
“All the players involved in the Gold Cup are competent and they are able to play at any time,” El Salvador coach Hugo Perez said. “They understand how we play, what we want to do, and how we want to perform in defence.
“The players that have been playing, the starters, understand that there might be some changes, but not because we think that one player is performing poorly, it’s just a tactical change considering the way we want to play tomorrow or the way Qatar will play tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the Qatar side might have accepted their Gold Cup invitation in order to expose themselves to different styles of play ahead of their hosting of the World Cup next year, but they’re under no illusions about the importance of these games.
“We also face this match with great enthusiasm and motivation because we know that it is an opportunity for us to face teams that are probably going to be in Qatar in an official competition,” Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said.
“If we do not win tomorrow, it will not be due to a lack of motivation.”
El Salvador will face Qatar at 4:30 p.m. Arizona time at State Farm Stadium tomorrow. The match is sold out as part of a doubleheader with another Gold Cup quarter-final: Mexico against Honduras.