Confident Qatar take on Iceland in friendly Monday

Coming off a stunning victory over Switzerland, Felix Sanchez’s Qatar side will be looking to carry the winning momentum when they take on Iceland in the international friendly Monday at the Kehrwegstadion Stadium in Eupen, Belguim.
The 96th-ranked Qatar upset eighth-ranked Switzerland 1-0 in a friendly last Wednesday as Akram Afif’s late goal gave the 2022 World Cup host a surprising victory.
The Swiss had gone into the game as massive favourites after putting six goals past Panama and Iceland this year, as well as scoring five against Hungary in 2017.
But Qatar proved equal to Switzerland, which boasted players like Liverpool star Xherdan Shaqiri, Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar and Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka. It was Qatar’s fourth victory out of five friendly games they have played in the last two months, with their only loss this season is a 2-0 defeat to Uzbekistan in Tashkent last month.
On Monday, Qatar will be looking for another big scalp against the 36th-ranked Iceland. Sanchez will once again test his players against formidable opposition in a bid to form a powerful side in the build-up to the 2019 Asian Cup set to take place next January in the United Arab Emirates.
In the Asian Cup, Qatar will be playing against Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and North Korea in Group E. Qatar will also play in next year’s Copa America in Brazil as one of the invited guests.
After the Swiss game, Sanchez was hopeful his players will gain confidence from beating a higher ranked team. “We hope this game gives our players the confidence that we can play against top teams and to keep working hard,” Sanchez said. “I’m sure in Qatar people are very proud of our players today and they’re going to give us more hope to prepare the Asian Cup.”
“When you’re coaching a team like Qatar and you’re facing a top team like we faced on Wednesday we need to do more things that we are not used to do but that’s the way to compete because at the moment Switzerland is No. 8 in the world, we’re No. 96. This for a reason,” Sanchez said.
Iceland made a splash in their first foray into international football tournaments in Euro 2016. They also made their first World Cup appearance last summer, but failed to progress beyond the challenging Group D, which saw them pitted against Croatia, Argentina and Nigeria.
The have been knocked out of the inaugural UEFA Nations League after they lost to Belgium on Thursday.