Asian champions Qatar have started their third and final phase of preparation in Spain as they gear up to make debut at the FIFA World Cup 2022 at home.
The team is scheduled to return home on November 13, one week before the tournament’s opener against Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium on November 20.
Al Annabi, coached by Spaniard Felix Sanchez, started their World Cup preparation in June with a training camp in Marbella, Spain before undergoing a camp in Austria where they also played several matches including international friendlies against Canada and Chile.
Before returning to Spain for the final phase, the national team stayed at home for a brief period, importantly, holding an open training session at Al Sadd Club’s Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium last week, when a huge crowd witnessed their national stars in action. The fans showed massive support to their national stars backing them to do well in their historic participation. For players, it was a huge morale-boosting event, with captain Hassan Al Haydos saying: “Such a support from fans has made us proud. Their continued support will motivate us and will bring the best out of us during the World Cup. We promise we will give our best show to make the fans proud of national team.” Sanchez said fans’ strong support will help Qatar in performing well as he hoped that the home team will be at the ‘best level’ during the World Cup.
Meanwhile, the Qatar Football Association’s (QFA) promotional activities to support the national team are also in full swing, with national players also meeting their school fans during their sojourn at home. As part of the campaign, the QFA officials are visiting different schools, which are holding festivals featuring different contests to show support for Al Annabi.
Qatar defender Bassam Al Rawi termed the all-out support for Al Annabi ahead of the World Cup important. “The support we are getting from fans everywhere including the social media is a huge morale booster. God willing, we will meet everyone’s expectations,” he said.
Team Qatar’s initial target at the World Cup is to clear the group stage where they will also face European giants the Netherlands and African champions Senegal. Except for South Africa in 2010, all host nations have progressed through the first round at the finals. Knowing the whole country is behind them, Qatar, who have prepared well for the forthcoming challenge, will enter the World Cup with confidence and will do its best to make strong appearance in front of home fans.
