Qatar football players take part in a practice session at the Al Sadd Stadium in Doha, ahead of their international friendly match against China which will be played at the Khalifa International Stadium tomorrow.
Doha: Coach Felix Sanchez will be looking to try out different combinations when his team takes on China and Palestine in friendly matches in Doha.
Qatar will take on China in their first friendly match tomorrow, followed by the fixture against Palestine on Tuesday, as they prepare for the 2019 Asian Cup which will be held in the UAE in January next year.
Both friendlies will be played at the air-cooled Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
The Spanish tactician named a strong 25-member squad ahead of the two friendlies and the list includes a host of promising players.
Qatar national players took part in a preparatory camp in Austria ahead of the start of the season, during which the team played two friendlies.
Out of them, some of the young players also competed in the 2018 Asian Games which concluded in Indonesia earlier this week.
Some of the players who played in the continental event, including goalkeeper Mohammed Bakri and Tarek Salman have been retained by the Qatar coach.
The squad also includes experienced players of the calibre of Pedro Miguel, Boualem Khoukhi, Hassan Al Haidos, Akram Afif, Bassam Hisham Al Rawi, Sultan Al Brake, Assim Madibo, Al Moez Ali and Ahmad Alaa.
China, coached by former Juventus and Italy manager Marcello Lippi, is also expected to field a full-strength squad against Al Anabi before heading to Bahrain for their next friendly game to be played on Monday.
Lippi had recalled 24 players for training ahead of the Doha encounter, including veterans Zheng Zhi and Gao Lin, who is on the verge of becoming the second man to earn 100 caps for China.
The last time the Chinese and Qatari teams met was during the FIFA World Cup qualifying third round in which the East Asian won 2-0.
Qatar will play two more friendly matches in October, against Ecuador on October 12 in Doha and Uzbekistan on October 16 in Tashkent.
In the 2019 Asian Cup, Qatar will be playing against Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and North Korea in Group E.
China have been drawn in Group C along with South Korea, Kirghizstan and The Philippines.
“The Asian Cup is a very important tournament, and I believe our players will do their best to help the team achieve a good result. The ability of our players is very competitive in Asia,” the Italian World Cup-winning coach had told Chinese media ahead of the friendly match.
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup will be held in the UAE from January 5 to February 1.
