Soccer-Flawless defensive record takes proud Qatar to final

Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said his team's record six clean sheets at the Asian Cup have been the foundation on which their charge to a first final was built.

Brushing aside the controversy over the missile hurling from fans that accompanied their final three goals in the 4-0 semi-final victory over their Emirati hosts on Tuesday, the Spaniard preferred to focus on the positives. Charged with producing a side that will do the country credit when they host the 2022 World Cup, the former Barcelona youth coach has built a young team that has gone further than any previous Qatar side at the Asian Cup.

"I’m very happy for the country because they're working very hard to have a competitive team," he told reporters. "All the nation is following the same target and of course the results we can see in this tournament, which gives us the proof that with hard work and good organisation we can achieve good results.

"These players, they are amazing in the way they are working and the effort they are putting in to be here and to have this performance. "We are working very hard and we're very proud and very happy -- knowing of course that we need to start to prepare for the last game, which is the most important."

That game is against a superpower of Asian football, the four-times continental champion Samurai Blue of Japan, who are likely to present by far the toughest test of Qatar's record-breaking defensive record at the tournament. South Korea held the previous record with five clean sheets from the start of the 16-team 2015 tournament but lost the first match in which they conceded -- the final against Australia.

"In six games we didn’t concede a goal," Sanchez added. "It’s very important and one of the main keys why we are qualified for the final.

"(But) Japan is a top team ... so we know we will have to play an excellent game if we are going to compete against them." (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Toby Davis)