Qatar will take on hosts China in their opening AFC U-20 Asian Cup Group A fixture on Shenzhen on Wednesday. Head coach Felix Sarriugarte will look to his Spain-based trio — Bassam Adel Eid, Mohamed Khaled Gouda and Ibrahim Mohammadali — who combined for eight goals in the qualifiers to lead Qatar to further success.
China, under head coach Dejan Durdevic, have set ambitious targets for the tournament, particularly the goal of securing a place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025. Having last qualified for the World Cup in 2014, China will be looking to make their mark in front of a home crowd.
“The team performed very well in the warm-up matches and improved in every game,” said Durdevic. “We will select the best players through these games and prepare for the Asian Cup. Our goal has not changed, which is to get into the top four of this Asian Cup and get a ticket to the World Cup.”
To get there, China has prepared with a series of friendlies, including victories over Syria and draws against Uzbekistan and Thailand. However, they face a tough challenge ahead in Qatar, who enter the tournament as the 2015 champions and the dominant force in their qualifiers. Qatar topped Group J with a perfect record, defeating Jordan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.