(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
#Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Fawad Hussain |
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Qatar will flex their muscles against Cambodia in a friendly today as head coach Marquez Lopez gives final touches to team's preparations for the AFC Asian Cup title defence.
The first of the two friendlies which Al Annabi will play before hosting the Asian Cup will be played at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium behind the closed doors.
Qatar will meet Jordan in their second friendly on January 5.
Today's friendly will be the first game for Qatar under Lopez, who replaced Carlos Queiroz for the Asian Cup recently. Lopez, a longtime Al Wakrah coach, has deemed the two games important as he aims to give the Asian champions best possible preparations for the continental showpiece set to begin on January 12.
“The Cambodia match will give us a good picture of the players' general level. We are currently focusing on their mental toughness before the Asian Cup challenge,” the Spaniard said on the sidelines of team's training camp.
Read Also
Download AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 match schedule Team Qatar's Osamah Al Tairi Injured, Qatar Football Association announces
Qatar are returning to action after their flying start in the joint qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 where they thrashed Afghanistan 8-1 and India 3-0 in their first two matches in November.
Excited ahead of the Asian Cup, Qatar players are hoping to make the most of the two friendlies.
“Our goal is to give a strong performance at the Asian Cup in front of our home fans. The two friendlies are a good opportunity for us to give final touches to our preparations,” said midfielder Tareq Salman.
“Lopez is not new to Qatar football. He has enjoyed a long and successful stint with Al Wakrah and we hope to achieve success under him,” he added.
Qatar's Al Gharafa forward Ahmed Alaaeldin said:“We are completely focused on our preparation to enter the Asian Cup with full readiness. The friendlies will give us good match practice and it is a good opportunity for the team management to test players.”
Ahead of today's friendly, Qatar suffered a setback as the 21-year-old Osama Al Tairi, the youngest member of the Qatar squad, was ruled out of the Asian Cup with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The Al Rayyan starlet was one of only four U-23 players in the 27-player preliminary squad.
Meanwhile, Felix Dalmas-coached Cambodia – ranked 179th in the FIFA rankings – are looking to gain experience in today's match against the Asian champions. Cambodia lost 1-0 to Pakistan in October, giving the South Asians their first ever victory in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
MENAFN31122023000063011010ID1107671856
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.