Midfielder Tariq Salman is hoping Qatar will put behind their disappointing World Cup performance at the Concacaf Gold Cup, which will be held in the United States of America and Canada from June 24 to July 16.
Qatar’s 26-member squad will depart to Vienna, Austria, today for the second phase of their training camp as they prepare for their second appearance as a guest side at the Gold Cup. The young team under the watchful eyes of head coach Carlos Queiroz had a three-day training camp at the Aspire Academy, which concluded on Tuesday.
The veteran Portuguese coach, who took over from Felix Sanchez after the World Cup debacle where the hosts lost all three of their group matches, has selected a fresh-look squad yesterday for the Gold Cup.
Salman, who is only one of the few surviving senior members from the World Cup squad, said the youngsters have brought a fresh energy into the squad. “We are focused on our training for the Gold Cup. All the players are looking forward to proving themselves, particularly the new players,” midfielder Tariq Salman said on the sidelines of the camp.
“We reached the semi-finals when we competed in the Gold Cup for the first time. We are returning to the tournament with high ambitions. It is an important tournament as it is a first challenge for us under a new coach before the World Cup Qualifiers and the Asian Cup,” he added
Left-back Jassem Jaber said the team is settling under Queiroz, as the players learn to implement the ideas of the new coach. “We are trying to learn the coach's ideas and will give our best to implement them on the field. We know the task is difficult in the presence of strong sides but we are determined to do well at the Gold Cup,” he said.
Meanwhile, Al Arabi goalkeeper Jassim al-Hail is excited at the prospect of making his debut for Qatar. “Every one of us is aiming to do well and contribute for the team with the best effort. We are working hard in the training camp to enter the tournament well prepared,” he said.
In Vienna, Al Annabi will play three friendly matches – against a Croatian side made up of local players on June 8, versus Jamaica on June 15 and against New Zealand four days later. Qatar players will leave for the USA on June 20.
Queiroz’s side will open their Gold Cup campaign against Haiti at the NRG Stadium in Houston on June 24. The Asian Champions then take on Honduras on June 29 in Glendale, Arizona before wrapping up their Group B matches against heavyweights Mexico on July 2 in Santa Clara, California.
Queiroz has retained few players from the World Cup squad like Almoez Ali, Mohamed Muntari, Bassam al-Rawi, Assim Madebo and Tariq Salman but the Gold Cup squad mostly consists of players who featured at the Gulf Cup in January.
After pruning the squad to 26 from 41 players after a short camp, Queiroz regularly spoke about ‘talent and performance identification’ but said the doors were always open for the seniors to make a comeback.


Qatar squad
Goalkeepers: Jassim al-Hail (Al Arabi), Mishaal Barshim (Al Sadd), Salah Zakaria (Al Duhail), Youssef Hassan (Al Gharafa)
Defenders: Hazem Ahmed (Al Wakrah), Ahmed Suhail, Jassem Jaber (Al Arabi), Tariq Salman, Musab Khader (Al Sadd), Bassam al-Rawi, Mohamed al-Nuaimi, Youssef Ayman (Al Duhail), Hammam al-Amin (Al Gharrafa)
Midfielders: Ahmed Fathi, Abdullah al-Maarafi (Al Arabi), Asim Madebo (Al Duhail), Ali Asad, Mohamed Waad, Mahdi Salem (Al Sadd), Mustafa Mishaal (Al Shamal)
Forwards: Ahmed Alaa (Al Gharafa), Almoez Ali, Mohamed Muntari (Al Duhail), Tamim Mansour (Al Rayyan), Khaled Mounir, Youssef Abdelrazzaq (Al Wakrah)