Sports Reporter/Doha

Qatar take on Thailand in a friendly international today as they continue their preparations for their crucial Asian and World Cup qualifying games later this month.

Today’s friendly at Al Sadd stadium will be Qatar’s second inside to weeks. Ten days ago, the Qataris, coached by Fahad Thani,  had beaten Egypt 3-1 in Doha. Qatar will take on Bahrain in their Asian Cup 2015 qualifying match on March 22 followed by another away game against South Korea on March 26.

While Qatar are expected to sail through qualifying for the Asian Cup, a defeat to South Korea will spell doom for them as far as their Brazil 2014 hopes are concerned. “In football nothing can be said and therefore we can’t let our guard down at any point of time,” coach Thani said before the Thailand friendly.

“We are gelling nicely as a team. The win against Egypt a few days ago has infused the boys with a lot of confidence.”

Meanwhile the Thai squad arrived in Qatar on Friday and trained at Aspire Academy.

Thailand are also in the midst of their Asian Cup qualifying campaign and are scheduled to play Lebanon on March 22.

Several players have pulled out of the Thai squad citing injuries, which has annoyed coach Winifred Schaefer and led him to question whether they were genuinely injured, but the German was more concerned about the weather in Qatar.

“My concern is how fast the players can adapt to the weather in the Middle East,” he was quoted as saying in The Nation.

“We are not much worried about our players’ fitness because the Thai Premier League season has begun.

“We will face a tough match but at least my players have desire in their hearts to play for their country. I hope we can get past this difficult time. We will try to build our best team during our training in Qatar.”

Schaefer is also under immense pressure with reports suggesting his job is on the line if they fail to beat Lebanon in Beirut, but he put on a brave face.

“I don’t feel bothered by the reports,” he insisted. “At the moment, I am only focusing on the Lebanon match. I want to continue working in football development in Thailand. If they sack me, I may look for a job in the Thai Premier League.”