The Spanish coach has agreed with the Qatari football federation to keep the 30 players away from Qatar and the prying eyes of their rivals, team spokesman Ali Salat told AFP.
“The coach and the federation stayed in touch during the season. It was agreed“, he said.
The players have even been released by their Qatari clubs in order to be able to better prepare for the big meeting, while the major European or South American selections will not recover their stars, mobilized by the club championships, until November 14, at the day before the tournament.
A delay which should allow Qatar to prepare as well as possible: Sanchez and his team will briefly return to Doha in early October, before returning to Spain for a new period of isolation before the start of the tournament, said Ali Salat.
Qatar are the lowest ranked team in Group A – 48th in the world according to the FIFA rankings.
The country failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup but won the Asian Cup in 2019 and reached the semi-finals of the Concacaf Cup last year.
Eyes riveted on Akram Afif, best player in Asia in 2019, Qatar fans dream of a course similar to that of South Korea during the 2002 World Cup. The co-host country of the tournament that year had taken its national team to the semi-finals.
To have a chance of reaching the round of 16, Qatar absolutely must beat Ecuador in the opening match on November 20, believes former national player Mohamed Mubarak al-Mohannadi.
Qatari footballers”are preparing for a World Cup for the first time in their lives“, he told AFP. “Going abroad for such a long time is difficult but the players know their mission.“
“The Qatari people will come to support them but they want to see quality football that they can cheer on and be proud of.“, he adds.
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