Sanchez names Qatar squad for World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers

Indian team to arrive in Group E centralised venue of Doha on May 19

QATAR coach Felix Sanchez has named a 27-member squad for the upcoming games of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to be held from June 3-15.

Qatar was picked by the Asian Football Confederation in March as the centralised venue to host the remaining Group E matches owing to the coronavirus -related travel and quarantine restrictions.

The Qatar team includes: Tareq Salman, Abdelkarim Hassan, Pedro Miguel, Salah Zakaria, Mahmoud Abu Nada, Meshaal Barsham, Saad Al Sheeb, Muhammad Waad, Boulem Khoukhi, Salem Al Hajri, Humam Ahmed, Bassem Al Rawi, Musab Khidr, Ahmed Suhail, Hassan Al Haydos, Khaled Muneer, Abdelaziz Hatem, Abdullah Al Ahrak, Ismail Muhammad, Karim Boudaif, Assim Madibo, Almoez Ali, Akram Afif, Ahmed Alaaeldin, Mohammed Muntari, Sultan Al Brake, Youssed Abdel Razzaq.

The Qatar players will begin a training camp from Sunday ahead of the qualifiers.

The fifth group matches will be held in four rounds on June 3-7-11 and 15th, with seven matches.

Qatar currently top the Group E ranking with 16 points from six games, Oman are second with 12 points from five matches, Afghanistan third with 4 points, India fourth with 3, and Bangladesh have 1 point.

Qatar beat Bangladesh 5-0 last December before the qualifiers were pushed ahead following the coronavirus pandemic.

Qatar are also scheduled to participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021 as a guest team as AFC Asian Cup champions.

The tournament will be played in 11 cities across eight different US metropolitan areas, with the final taking place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on August 2.

Qatar are in Group D (based in Houston, Texas, BBVA Stadium), the first match will kick off on July 13 against Panama, before Honduras takes on Grenada.

On July 20 in Orlando, Grenada and Panama will close Group Stage play while Honduras faces Qatar in BBVA Stadium.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the main association football competition of the men’s national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

The Gold Cup is held every two years. It was previously referred to as the CONCACAF Championship before being renamed to the CONCACAF Gold Cup starting in 1991.

Indian team to land on May 19

India, who are already out of the reckoning for a 2022 FIFA World Cup berth but are still in contention for a 2023 Asian Cup spot in the joint qualifiers, will arrive on May 19 after Qatar accepted the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) request to allow Indian’s players to train in Doha ahead of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Qatar has even agreed to the AIFF’s request to waive the mandatory 10-day quarantine. The players will have a preparatory camp of nearly two weeks in a bio-bubble before their first match on June 3.

The Indian team will assemble in New Delhi and will be tested for COVID-19 prior their departure to Qatar.