Qatar coach Felix Sanchez during a press conference, yesterday.
Doha: Coach Felix Sanchez will be looking to test his tactics and team’s skills against unfamiliar opponents when Asian Champions Qatar hosts Bulgaria in a friendly match at the Education City Stadium today.
The match will kick off at 8:30pm.
In their first game of the year, the FIFA World Cup 2022 hosts will be looking to resume their act from where they left at last year’s FIFA Arab Cup in which they clinched the bronze medal on December 18.
Al Annabi - ranked 52nd in the FIFA calendar, and Bulgaria - ranked 71st, have never faced each other in an international match and the first ever face-off between the two nations should be an interesting one to watch.
Being the hosts for the FIFA World Cup this year, Qatar are exempted from competing in qualifiers, however, Al Annabi had a busy year playing out 11 friendly games last year. On the other hand, Bulgaria finished fourth in Group C of the European qualifiers, failing to make it to the World Cup for the sixth time in a row.
“Friendly games are very important for us to prepare for the World Cup,” the Spaniard said during a press conference in Doha, yesterday.
“We want to try the maximum number of players, and to rotate between them,” Sanchez said highlighting the importance of providing more match practice and international exposure to his players.
“We are playing without any pressure. Our goal is to play as many international matches as possible, and to gain experience,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez announced a strong 23-member squad ahead of the friendlies as the Spaniard retained majority of the squad which did well in the FIFA Arab Cup.
Some of Asia’s best players such as Akram Afif, Saad Al Sheeb, Abdelkarim Hassan, Karim Boudiaf and Almoez Ali will be gunning to excel against the Europeans.
Sanchez also brought in debutant Nayef Al Hadhrami in the absence of regular captain Hassan Al Haydos, who is nursing an injury and Abdulaziz Hatem, who is recovering from a surgery.
Striker Almoez is just three goals away from becoming the all-time top goalscorer in Qatar’s history, and he will be keen to surpass Mubarak Mustafa’s 41 goal record during the friendlies this week. The 20-year-old Al Hadhrami, the latest addition to the national team, said it is an honour to play for the national team.
“It’s a great honour to be in the national team and I will try my best to prove myself,” the young midfielder who also plays for Al Rayyan, said during the press conference.
“There’s a long way to go for the World Cup. Our goal is to gain experience by playing these different friendlies,” Al Hadhrami said on the eve of the first of the two friendly matches.
Following today’s friendly against Bulgaria, Al Annabi will face Slovenia next on March 29.
Meanwhile, 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia will also kick off their friendlies in Qatar today when they take on Slovenia at the Education City Stadium.
The kick off is set for 5:00pm. The Croatians will meet Bulgaria in their second friendly three days later.
