Qatar players celebrate their 2-0 victory over AFC Asian cup champions Iraq. (AFP)

DOHA – Qatar coach Jorge Fossati had plenty of reason to be pleased after watching his side bounce back in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers with a 2-0 win over Asian Cup holders Iraq on Wednesday.

The Qataris began their Group One campaign with a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Australia last month but goals by Sebastian Soria and midfielder Fabio Cesar delighted the capacity crowd of 18,000 at the Al Sadd Stadium and put Fossati’s side back into contention.

The Uruguayan was understandably delighted with the result.

"We didn't win because of luck or anything like that," said Fossati.

“We won because we fought hard in the match. We won because we played a superior level of football. I am happy with this win.

"Technically, we were far better than Iraq. I think my team was very motivated since we had Emerson and Soria playing together.

“Hussain Yasser was also back for us and that helped a great deal," he added.

However, the Qatar coach pointed out that his team needs to continue working hard if they are to progress to the next round of the qualifiers.

"There is a long way to go. If we lose our next match, things can go bad for us. If we lose, we will be in big trouble.

“Anything can happen from here onwards. So there is hard work to be done."

Iraq coach Adnan Hamad admitted his side were outplayed by the home side.

"Congratulations to the Qatar team, who played much better than us,” said Hamad.

“My team was badly shaken after the first goal. We did not expect such a start and it was difficult to recover after that.

"After playing good football, we allowed another mistake which resulted in the second goal. My players made many mistakes in the match. Maybe they were nervous.

“But I missed many of my top players. Nashat Akram did not play today as he was injured and there were other injuries as well. We could not have our best side.

"I think Qatar can go forward if they play like this. They played very smart football with few mistakes," the Iraq coach added.