Qatar Football Association (QFA) president Jassim bin Rashid al-Buenain on Tuesday met with the players of Qatar team, currently training for the Gold Cup in Austria, in Vienna. The Gold Cup will be hosted by USA and Canada from June 24 to July 16. The QFA president, along with Qatar coach Carlos Queiroz, spoke to the players providing encouragement ahead of their next friendly with Jamaica on June 15th. Al-Buenain urged the players to work hard and to focus on preparation for the important events that await the team, the most important of which being the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the Asian Cup finals that will be held in Qatar in January 2024. In Austria, Qatar had lost to Croatia Under-23 team 0-1, where Queiroz fielded two set of teams in each half. Al Annabi will also be playing New Zealand on June 19 in preparation for the Gold Cup. Qatar will leave for the US from Austria on June 20th. Qatar, who are an guest side in the Concacaf Gold Cup, had made it to the semi-finals of the tournament in 2021. Qatar are placed in Group B for the Gold Cup alongside Mexico, Haiti and Honduras. Carlos Queiroz’s men start their campaign against Haiti on June 26 at NRG Stadium in Houston with the match scheduled to kick off at 1:00am (Qatar time ). Al Annabi will next meet Honduras on June 30 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale before squaring off with Mexico in their final group tie on July 3 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.