Qatar will take on Jordan today in what will be their final friendly before they open their AFC Asian Cup title defence on January 12 at the Lusail Stadium. The game is Qatar’s second friendly to be played behind closed doors in Doha after they defeated Cambodia 3-0 with striker Almoez Ali smashing a hat-trick on Sunday.
Coach Marquez Lopez on Wednesday announced a 26-player squad for the Asian Cup with Al Duhail’s Khaled Mohamed and Ismail Mohamed replacing Osama al-Tairi and Mohamed Muntari, who were injured during the training camp underway at Aspire Academy. After meeting Lebanon in their opening game at the Asian Cup, Qatar will meet Tajikistan at the Al Bayt Stadium on January 17, before their final group stage match takes place on January 22 against China at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Coached by Hussein Amouta – a former Al Sadd tactician – Jordan are in Group E of the Asian Cup with their opening match scheduled against Malaysia on January 15 at Al Janoub Stadium. They will also face pre-event favourites South Korea and Bahrain in the group stage.
Before starting their Asian Cup campaign, Jordan will also play a friendly against Japan on January 9. Jordan will enter today’s match with a seven-match winless streak as Amouta is yet to secure a win since taking over last summer.
Qatar players train at the Aspire Academy on Thursday.
