Qatar open the World Cup against Ecuador on November 21 – anything but a defeat would be a surprise
Quelle: pa/Xinhua News Agency/yangyuanyong
Qatar loses a friendly against Croatia. The clear defeat could be a respectable result for the World Cup hosts if the opponents hadn’t been an under-23 team. The World Cup seems to be all about sporting damage limitation.
Dhe game will be the absolute highlight in the history of the Qatar Football Association, which is not exactly rich in highlights. On November 20, Qatar’s national team opens the World Cup with a game against Ecuador. It is the emirate’s first World Cup participation, which was only possible because the tournament hosts qualified automatically. The current condition of the team suggests that a regular qualification would not have been possible.
Two months before the opening match, Qatar lost 3-0 to Croatia. Actually a respectable result for number 48 in the Fifa world rankings. But the Croatian national team didn’t feature stars like Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic or Ivan Perisic. It was a squad full of nameless talent, with no player older than 23.
Qatar had no chance against the U23s of Croatia, Tonio Teklic, Josip Mitrovic and Sandro Kulenovic scored the goals. Actually, Qatar should compete in Austria against Bolivia. But Bolivia canceled the game and Croatia’s U23s stepped in.
Draw against Paraguay as success
Coach Felix Sanchez has two friendlies left to get his side in shape for the World Cup. Qatar take on Canada next Friday, followed by Chile four days later. Both games will take place at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Qatar.
Qatar national team coach Felix Sanchez
Quelle: pa/PIXSELL/Igor Kralj
In addition to Eduador, Sanchez’s team will meet the Netherlands and Senegal in the preliminary round. No player from the squad earns his money in Europe, the team is a team of the nameless. Most of them play at Al-Sadd SC, which is based in Doha and whose president is Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani.
The greatest achievement of the national team in recent years was reaching the semi-finals of the Gold Cup and a draw in the Copa America against Paraguay.
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