Qatar Ready For Afghanistan Game, Look To Maintain Winning Momentum

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fawad Hussain | The Peninsula

Doha: A new-look Qatar side will take on Afghanistan in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 and FIFA World Cup 2026 joint qualifiers, with coach Marquez Lopez expecting a winning show from his young guns in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia today.

Following four straight victories in Group A, the Asian champions have already advanced to the third round of World Cup Qualifiers also sealing their place in the next Asian Cup besides securing top spot in the group.

Qatar coach Marquez Lopez speaks during a press conference yesterday as Al Annabi player Naif Al Hadhrami looks on.

Qatar's winning streak gave Lopez leverage to test his bench strength as he included many youngsters for the remaining two group matches, also including a home clash against India on June 11.

They thrashed Afghanistan 8-1 in November's first leg with Almoez Ali firing a hat-trick in the big win. But the seasoned striker is not part of the team after being rested along with in-form forward Akram Afif and several other senior players with Lopez's first-choice goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham, who recently underwent a surgery, also absent from the squad.

Lopez, however, is confident his young team is capable of keeping Al Annabi's perfect record in the qualifiers intact, in today's“important” game to be played at Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium at 7pm (Doha time).

“We have a young squad as we opted to rest senior players but still a win will be crucial to us,” said the Qatar coach, who led the side to successful Asian Cup title defence earlier this year.

“We have a long journey ahead in the qualifiers and we want to maintain the winning momentum in the next stage of the qualifiers. We are happy to confirm our berth in the Asian Cup but our mission of qualifying for the World Cup remains, and we must continue giving our best,” he added.

Naif Al Hadhrami – one of the youngsters in Qatar squad – was confident of living up to coach's expectations.

“We are aiming for full three points in our match against Afghanistan and another win in our last match in the group,” said the midfielder.

“The wins would not change our status in the group as we have already qualified, still maximum points will be important for us. Our main goal is to qualify for the World Cup and for that we have to perform consistently and try to win every match.”

Qatar, who held a brief training camp in Doha, reached Al Ahsa yesterday and took part in the final training session ahead of the match later in the evening.

Afghanistan coach Ashley Westwood (right) during a training session in Al Ahsa, yesterday.

Meanwhile, hosts India will take on Kuwait with both the sides eyeing maximum points in Kolkata in other Group A match today.

India are second in the group with four points, having an edge over Afghanistan in the points table on a better goal difference. Kuwait, who lost to Igor Stimac's men in the first leg in November, are on the bottom with three points. They are targeting a win over the home side to revive their hopes of finishing runners-up in the group with Afghanistan up next.

The game will also mark the last international appearance for legend Sunil Chhetri, who has 94 goals in 150 appearances for India. He is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Iran's Ali Daei (retired) and Lionel Messi in the list of all-time leading international goal-scorers.

Stimac was hopeful his team would strengthen their chance to reach the third round of World Cup qualifiers for the first time.

“Reaching there (Round 3) will be another step in Indian football history. It will be an amazing thing to have the opportunity to play another 10 games against the best Asian teams and dream big about trying to reach the biggest stage of football,” the India coach said ahead of the match.

AFC Asian Cup 2027, FIFA World Cup 2026 joint qualifiers

Today's fixtures

GROUP A
At Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Stadium (Al Hasa, Saudi Arabia)
Qatar vs Afghanistan
Kick off at 19:00
India vs Kuwait (Kolkata)

GROUP B
Myanmar vs Japan (Yangon)
DPR Korea vs Syria (Vientiane)

GROUP C
China vs Thailand (Shenyang)
Singapore vs South Korea (Singapore)

GROUP D
Chinese Taipei vs Oman (Taipei)
Kyrgyzstan vs Malaysia (Bishkek)

GROUP E
Hong Kong, China vs Iran (Hong Kong)
Uzbekistan vs Turkmenistan (Tashkent)

GROUP F
Indonesia vs Iraq (Jakarta)
Vietnam vs Philippines (Hanoi)

GROUP G
Pakistan vs Saudi Arabia (Islamabad)
Jordan vs Tajikistan (Amman)

GROUP H
Bahrain vs Yemen (Riffa)
Nepal vs United Arab Emirates (Dammam)

GROUP I
At Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (Doha)
Palestine vs Lebanon
Kick off at 17:00
Bangladesh vs Australia (Dhaka)

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