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The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar will look to bounce back from a defeat to Canada as they meet Chile in their final friendly in Vienna today, before the Felix Sanchez-coached side returns home for a brief sojourn.
Despite being on a six-match winless run, Chile pose another tough challenge for Qatar as Sanchez test his players for the last time during their training camp in Austria.
The match, which will kick off at 8pm at the Viola Park, will be the final chance for the Spaniard before he finalises the 26-member squad for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Having conceded goals in the first 13 minutes during the 0-2 loss to Canada on Friday, the Asian champions will look for a strong start against Eduardo Berizzo-coached Chile – ranked 29th in the FIFA rankings, 19 places above Qatar.
The World Cup hosts after being on the receiving end in the first half against Canada created opportunities without converting any, and Sanchez will be hoping to see his Asian champions on the scoring sheet, particularly expecting his front pairing of Akram Afif and Almoez Ali to excel today.
Changes are expected in the starting line-up as Sanchez may look for rotation after benching Hassan Al Haydos, Ali Assadalla and Ismail Mohamed against Canada.
Chile, who have not scored a goal during their winless stretch, will look for the opening against Qatar posing a challenge on Saad Al Sheeb's goal. The South Americans missed a World Cup berth after failing in the qualifying games.
Chile defender Daniel Gutierrez hoped for a win against Qatar today.
“This match is extremely important. It will help us improve ourselves mentally and physically. It will be an intense duel tomorrow. We must become strong and keep up the pace,” he said.
Following the game, Qatar will wrap up their camp in Austria and will hold an open training session on October 2 in Doha.
They will return to Spain for more preparation before the World Cup starts.
Al Annabi's final stretch of World Cup preparations began in June with a training camp in Marbella, Spain before they moved to Austria.
Qatar also played games against Jamaica, Ghana and Morocco and Croatia behind closed doors during the period.
The Asian champions will kick off their World Cup campaign with their first Group A match against Ecuador in tournament's opening game on November 20 at Al Bayt Stadium. Al Annabi will also meet the Netherlands and Senegal in the group.
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