Qatar meet Bangladesh tomorrow, hope to seal Asian Cup berth
Doha: Qatar will look to move closer to confirming their place at the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Finals on Friday as Felix Sanchez’s continental champions host Bangladesh in Group E of the Asian Qualifiers at Doha’s Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
The winners of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup lead the standings with 13 points from their first five games and, with a nine-point lead over third placed Afghanistan and three matches remaining, the Qataris know a solitary point will take them four points clear of second-placed Oman.
Winning the group will assure Qatar their place in China 2023, which they can also achieve by finishing as one of the best four second-placed teams at the end of the second round of the Asian Qualifiers.
In what promises to be an absorbing tie, 1,800 tickets have been made available for fans to watch the first Asian Qualifiers match to be played in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic having forced the postponement of fixtures scheduled in March and June.
Head coach Sanchez has named a strong squad for his side’s first competitive game in 2020, which comes just three weeks after Qatar slipped to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Korea Republic in a friendly in Austria, the third match without a win for the FIFA World Cup 2022 hosts.
Reigning AFC Player of the year Akram Afif and his predecessor Abdel Karim Hassan are among nine players from Qatar Stars League leaders Al Sadd SC to be included in the 23-man selection, while Almoez Ali, the leading scorer at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, is one of six from Al Duhail SC to feature.
