DEBRECEN, HUNGARY - Asian champions Qatar will be eyeing points against Serbia when the two sides clash in a European qualifier for the 2022 FIFA World Cup that is just 15 months away.
Coached by Felix Sanchez for the last four years, Qatar will play their first match since their impressive run in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which they were eliminated in the semifinal against the US earlier this month.
Serbia, coached by Dragan Stojkovic, are ranked 29 on the FIFA computer. Serbia have drawn with Portugal (2-2) and Jamaica (1-1) in their last four internationals. Serbia beat Azerbaijan (2-1) in the other two matches before losing to former Asian champions Japan (0-1).
Qatar, on the other hand, have looked in menacing form this year. At their Gold Cup debut, Qatar drew with Panama (3-3) before crushing Honduras (2-0) and edging El Salvador 3-2. Following an entertaining clash, Qatar lost to the US (1-0) in the semifinals.
Playing their matches in Europe, Qatar will be playing Serbia on Wednesday in the first of two games at the Nagyerdei Stadion in the Hungarian city of Debrecen.
Sanchez’s boys will next play Portugal on September 4 at the same venue. Hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar, appear in the qualifiers to gain experience ahead of the football blockbuster next year.
Earlier in the year in Group A, Qatar beat Luxembourg (1-0) and Azerbaijan (2-1) before playing a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland.
Since their return from the US, the Qatari squad assembled in Doha for a short period before heading to Austria, where the Asian champions have been conducting a full scale of training sessions under the watchful gaze of coach Sanchez.
The 20,000-capacity venue saw the maroons amass a tally of seven points out of a possible nine in the opening three rounds of Group A of the European section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification against Luxembourg, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Ireland.
On Monday, the Qatar Football Association announced influential striker Mohammed Muntari will miss out on the qualifiers because of an injury.
Qatar will take on Luxembourg on September 7 in what would be the last of three internationals within a week’s time.
This week, the Qatar squad is expected to be in the limelight of fans after QFA launched a nationwide marketing campaign in Hungary ahead of the Serbia clash.
The marketing campaign has been launched on the ground and social media platforms of QFA. Qatari flags around the stadium and posters of the match at the training venues have been set up.
Match posters have also appeared at the Debrecen train station, and advertisements promoting the matches against Serbia and Portugal can also be seen at Budapest Airport.
Qatar squad: Saad Al-Sheeb, Meshaal Barsham, Mahmoud Abu Nada, Youssif Hassan, Salah Zakaria, Pedro Miguil, Abdul Karim Hassan, Tariq Salman, Ahmed Suhail, Musaab Khidir, Bassam Al-Rawi, Homam Al-Amin, Khouki Boualem, Mohamed Waad, Assim Madabo. Karim Boudiaf, Ismail Mohamed, Abdullah Al-Ahraq, Abdullah Marafiya, Abdulaziz Hatim, Jassem Jaber, Akram Afif, Hassan Al-Haydos, Khaled Mohamed, Sultan Al-Braik, Ali Asad, Ahmed Moein, Yusuf Abdurisag, Al-Moez Ali and Ahmed Alaa.
Source: Qatar Olympic Committee