(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Qatar begin their quest for glory at the 2019 U-20 FIFA World Cup against Nigeria today.
For the Asians, Poland 2019 will be their fourth appearance and they will be hoping to better their second-place finish achieved in Australia 1981.
And to achieve this, first, they must navigate past Paul Aigbogun's men before taking on Ukraine and the United States in Group D.
Qatar will be aiming to deliver a better performance than they did four years ago at the FIFA U-20 World Cup that begins in Poland today.
The Flying Eagles will be making their 12th appearance on the global scene thanks to their fourth-place finish at the Africa U20 Cup of Nations staged in Niger Republic in February.
Coached by Portuguese manager Bruno Miguel, Qatar have arrived in Poland to face Nigeria, Ukraine and the US in their Group D clashes at the 24-team tournament. Qatar are set to make their fourth FIFA U-20 World Cup appearance and they book their ticket with a gallant display in the continental championship.
After losing their opening 2018 AFC U-19 Championship game to the United Arab Emirates, successive wins over host nation Indonesia and Chinese Taipei saw Qatar finish on top of Group A by the narrowest of margins.
A 7-3 extra-time defeat of Thailand duly followed in the quarter-finals, before Qatar succumbed 3-1 to eventual runners-up Korea Republic in the last four.
After seeing him excel at the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship, Qatar will be looking for a repeat performance from striker Abdulrasheed Umaru. The Al Ahli forward found the net seven times in Indonesia to land the Top Scorer award, two ahead of team-mate Hashim Ali who is also set to appear in Poland.
Highly regarded defender Nasir Baksh is once again expected to lead his country having captained Qatar in Indonesia.
Poland 2019 will be Qatar's fourth FIFA U-20 World Cup appearance after making their tournament debut in 1981 when they lost 4-0 in the final to West Germany. They went on to host the competition's 1996 edition but subsequently failed to reach the knockout phase a fate which also befell the West Asians when they finished bottom of Group C at New Zealand 2015.
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