Santos: "We Showed We Deserve Second Place and Quarter-Finals, But the Work Isn't Over"

Alexandre Santos, head coach of AS FAR, expressed his satisfaction with his team's performance following their 1-0 victory over Tanzania's Young Africans in the fifth round of the CAF Champions League group stage. He affirmed that the military club deserved to qualify for the next round.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Santos stated, "We are very happy because we succeeded in reaching the quarter-finals. It's true there's some frustration because we completely missed the chance to score a second goal, but the most important thing is that as a group, we should be very proud of the team's collective spirit."

He added, "It wasn't easy to continue playing after the heavy rain and numerous difficulties, especially since controlling the ball was tough. We delivered a good first half, but the second half was amazing; it was a display of our team's strength, desire, and ambition."

Santos continued, "We tried many times to score the first goal, and our ball possession reached 72%. It's true that this possession also came about because Young Africans were only looking to secure a draw."

He elaborated, "I believe we clearly showed here that we deserve second place, and that we deserve to reach the quarter-finals, but we still need one more point. We might seem happy and pleased, but the work is not over yet."

Santos concluded, "We must put in a great effort to secure at least one point, because the goal is always to win. We will travel to Cairo for the match with the aim of competing for a victory, naturally."