Sanchez names strong Qatar squad for Asian Cup, World Cup qualifying campaign

Doha:  Qatar, the team with most number of internationals under their belt since the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia last year, have kicked off preparations to take on regional minnows Afghanistan in a joint FIFA World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying match in Doha on Thursday.

Coached by Felix Sanchez (pictured), Asian Cup champions Qatar have played a staggering 21 internationals (12 wins, 2 draws, 7 losses) in a little over 13 months. In the same period, rivals Afghanistan have played just four internationals.

Sanchez, a hugely popular figure in Qatar football circles, yesterday named a strong 24-member squad for the first phase of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifying campaigns.

The clash against Afghanistan will be followed by a match against India on September 10. Both fixtures will be played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

Most of Qatar’s Asian Cup winning players are in the squad including the captain Hassan Al Haydos who fired his 100th club goal for Al Sadd on Saturday.

The list of players also includes Qatar’s premier young strikers Akram Afif and Almoez Ali.

Qatar are pitted in Group E alongside Bangladesh, Oman, India and Afghanistan for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup campaign.

The 2022 World Cup hosts will bid to defend the AFC Asian Cup they won in spectacular fashion in the UAE last February.

Divided into eight groups of five, the Asian sides will battle it out against each other across 10 months from September 5, 2019 to June 9, 2020.

The eight group winners and four best runners-up will advance to the 2022 Asian Cup Finals and the final round of qualifying for Qatar 2022 World cup.

However, should Qatar win their group, the seven other group winners and five best second-placed sides will advance to the final round of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA event.

The next best 24 teams from the second round of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining 12 slots in the 24-team Asian Cup.

The qualifying matches start this month.

With reigning Asian champions and the next World Cup hosts Qatar the undisputed favourites to win Group E, Oman and India will likely be left vying for the second spot and a potential qualifying position.

“The qualifiers will be a major challenge for my young team and we’re in a difficult group. We must respect all our opponents,” India coach Igor Stimac said after the draw.

“The players must respect every team, but on the pitch we’ll do everything we can to win. I’ll prepare the team for that. We’re at the beginning of our journey and I hope it’ll be a long one,” he added.

Qatar Squad:

Saad Al Sheeb, Meshaal Barshim, Mohammd Albakri, Pedro, Salem Al Hajdri, Tariq Salman, Abdulkarim Hassan, Khoukhi Bualem, Hassan Al Haydos, Akram Afif, Abdulaziz Al Ansari, HAshim Ali, Bassam Al Rawi, Asim Madibo, Almoez Ali, Karim Boudiaf, Ali Afif, Musab Khizar, Ahmed Fateh,Yusuf Abdulrazzaq, Almehdi Ali, Abdulaziz Hatem and Abdulla Absulsalam
Coach: Felix Sanchez