WE MEAN BUSINESS
QATAR boss Jose Daniel Carreno is adamant their friendly against Scotland is anything but meaningless for the Gulf state.
The Uruguayan replaced former Manchester City midfielder Djamel Belmadi at the Qatar helm earlier this month.
And he’ll kick off his reign against Northern Ireland on May 31 before facing Gordon Strachan’s men at Easter Road.
The Qatar Airways Cup clash will provide the Scots with match sharpness ahead of the Euro 2016 crunch against the Republic of Ireland on June 13.
But Carreno insists the fixture is also pivotal for his side given their World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign begins on June 11 against the Maldives.
He said: “Whether you are a big team or a small team there is always pressure to win.
“And the matches against Northern Ireland and Scotland are very important. We want to build a team with aggression, passion and work ethic.
“There is a real desire to qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and that is what we are working towards.
“We know it will be difficult but it is possible.
“It would be important to have experience of the tournament before hosting it in 2022.”
Qatar will be arriving in Britain on Tuesday and will use the training facilities at the English FA’s state-of-theart St George’s Park complex in Burton-upon-Trent.