Action from the friendly international between Qatar and Latvia yesterday.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
Qatar geared up for the crucial World Cup qualifier against Iran on June 4 with a 3-1 victory over Latvia in a friendly international in Doha yesterday.
The hosts bounced back from a 21st minute goal scored by Jurjis Zigajevs to post what was a comfortable win in the end.
Ibrahim Majid (35th minute), Majid Mohamed (65) and Jaralla al-Marri (80) found the mark for Qatar in a match which saw coach Fahad Thani testing several players.
“It was a good workout for the team,” Thani said. “I am happy with the fitness and form of the boys,” he added.
The Qatari players have had a hectic season, many of them having played in the Qatar Stars League, the Heir Apparent Cup, the Emir Cup and the Asian Champions League .
But last night they were sharp as they showed no signs of fatigue against the Latvians, ranked 110th in the world.
Qatar have two matches remaining in the final phase of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup – against Iran and Uzbekistan – and need to win both of them to book their ticket to Brazil.
Coach Thani has announced a squad of 27 players for the matches against Iran and Uzbekistan. Also known as ‘Al Anabi’, Qatar are in fourth place in Group A, Asian Zone, qualifying phase behind Uzbekistan, Korea and Iran.
Qatar squad for World Cup qualifiers: Bilal Mohamed, Ibrahim al-Ghanim, Qassim Burhan (Al Gharafa), Talal al-Balooshi, Wisam Rizk, Mohamed Kasola, Khalfan Ibrahim, Ibrahim Majid,Hassan al-Haydos, Saad al-Sheeb, Yusuf Ahmed, Abdul Karim Hassan (Al Sadd), Majid Mohamed, Mohamed El Sayed, Abdel Muttalib (Gedo), Ahmad Sofian, Musab Mahmood, Abdul Qadir Elias (El Jaish), Hamad al-Obeidi,Hamid Ismail, Jarallah al-Marri (Al Rayyan), Adel Lamy, Ahmad Yasser Mohammadi, Ali Hassan Afif, Hussein Ali Shihab, Khaled Muftah, Sebastian Soria, (Lekhwiya), Abdulaziz al-Sulaiti (Al Arabi).