Qatar star Afif: We are living in a new day

Doha, Jan 13 (IANS) Qatar's star Akram Afif stated that his team had forgotten the World Cup heartache after the defending champion got off to a flying start in the opening game of Asian Cup here.

Afif broke the deadlock and sealed the victory at the end of each half, marking his team an excellent 3-0 victory over Lebanon, reports Xinhua.

In the press conference, Afif claimed that they had moved on after the 2022 World Cup and even forgot about the title clinched at the last Asian Cup.

"We are living in a new day. We need to win the second round, or we can't be the champion this time. So we don't think too far ahead," Afif said.

Lebanon coach Miodrag Radulovic praised Afif's ability of dominating the game.

"Afif is one of the best players in Asia and I believe he can play in Europe," Radulovic said.

"We had chances in the first half and we tried to put off all the potential to attack in the second half but unfortunately we didn't score. It's an old football rule -- when you don't score, you concede," Radulovic added.