Qatar to face Yemen in Arabian Gulf Cup

DOHA, November 29, 2019 - The Qatari national football team is looking for victory and to secure the first three points when it faces Yemen on Friday at Khalifa International Stadium in the second round of the first group matches in the Arabian Gulf Cup.In the same group, the Iraqi team will face its UAE counterpart tomorrow also at Khalifa International Stadium, followed immediately by the match of Qatar. The Qatari team had started its campaign in the 24th Gulf cup with a 2-1 defeat to Iraq. Qatar's national team was close to winning, but opportunities had not been exploited properly.The Qatari team is hoping to compensate on Friday and return strongly in the atmosphere of competition.In turn, the Yemeni team lost against UAE national team in the first round, and in turn the team looking for remedy and compensation in the next match. on the other hand, Qatar Football Federation announced today that injured defender Bassam Al Rawi will miss the remaining matches of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup.Al Rawi was injured in the Group A match against Iraq of the regional championship at the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday. The tests conducted on Al Rawi showed that he had a broken leg which needed surgery. Two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-final stage of the tournament.

SOP competitions continue amid high response from students

DOHA, November 28 , 2019 – The football competitions for primary schools (boys) at the 13th edition of the Schools Olympic Program (SOP) continued successfully on Wednesday .In the group one, Sokileir International school topped the group , while in group two Al Noor Languages school took advantage and lead. In three group Iqra School claimed the first place.In group four, Shanti Indian school clinched the first place, while Newton Academy topped group five.The SOP is held annually as a collaborative effort of to encourage hundreds of students athletes competing from all over Qatar.The SOP Committee aims to spread a culture of sports through Qatar's schools and to engage the entire community in active and healthy lifestyles while retaining local values and traditions.

Team Qatar line up for Yemen Clash in Gulf Cup

Doha, November 28, 2019- (QNA) - Qatar national football team on Wednesday resumed training on the outdoor stadiums of Aspire Academy, in preparation for facing Yemen in their second match within the first group of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup, after losing 2-1 to Iraq yesterday in the opening match of the tournament hosted by Doha until December 8.The Qatari team will face their Yemeni counterparts at Khalifa International Stadium on Friday in a bid to win and qualify for the next round before facing the UAE in the last matches within Group A.The team led by Spanish coach Felix Sanchez will have to address the mistakes made in their match against Iraq to avoid repeating them in the next confrontation which everyone hopes will be the real start for the team.The team will hold its main training tomorrow during which the coach will determine the ideal formation to play against Yemen, where the focus will be more on the technical and tactical aspects in addition to re-watching the game in order to find out the mistakes.The team will also study the points of strong and weakness to win over the Yemeni team.On the other hand, the Qatari team suffered a great loss in their squad with the absence of defender Bassam Al Rawi from the rest of the matches in the tournament due to a fracture in his right leg during the match with Iraqi team.

Team Qatar lose to Iraq in Gulf Cup opener

Doha, November 27, 2019- Qatar national football team began their campaign at the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup with a 1-2 defeat against Iraq on Tuesday at Khalifa International Stadium. Iraq's midfielder Mohammed Qasem scored the team's first goal in the 18th minute and their second goal in the 27th minute of the first half, leaving the score at 0-2 in Iraq's favor when the first half ended.When the second half started Qatar's midfielder Yusuf Abdul Razzaq was substituted with midfielder Abdulaziz Hatem which turned out to be a good decision because he scored Qatar's first goal in the first minute of the second half.Three substitutions in the Iraqi teams and two in the Qatari team later, the score remained at 1-2 in favour of Iraq at the end of the well-fought out match.

HH the Amir Opens 24th Arabian Gulf Cup

Doha, November 27, 2019-(QNA) - HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani opened the 24th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup at Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday evening.HH the Amir declared the opening of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup, and welcomed, in the name of every Qatari, everyone in "everyone's Doha".The opening was attended by HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, HH the Personal Representative of HH the Amir Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Thani, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Thani and HE Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa Al-Thani.The opening was also attended by HE Speaker of the National Assembly of the State of Kuwait Marzouq bin Ali Al Ghanim, Their Excellencies Sheikhs and Ministers and heads of the Gulf Olympic committees and federations, Their Excellencies heads of the diplomatic missions accredited to the State, senior officials in the sport field and a huge crowd.The opening ceremony began with traditional artistic shows and a documentary film telling the history of the Arabian Gulf Cup since its inception in 1970, and the entry of flags of the participating countries and fireworks. (QNA)

Qatar to take on Iraq in Gulf Cup opener

Doha, November 26, 2019-Qatar will hope to maintain their form when they take on Iraq in the opening match of 24th Arab Gulf Cup here at the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday.This is the fourth time that the tournament is being hosted in Doha after 1976, 1992 and 2004, with Qatar winning it twice (1992 & 2004). “Looking forward to start the competition as a part of our 2022 World Cup preparations," said Qatar coach Felix Sanchez at the pre-match press conference on Monday.The reigning AFC Asian Cup champions have been in good form in the World Cup qualifiers where they are currently top Group E. Though the team struggled in their 1-0 over Afghanistan on November 19, Sanchez exuded confidence.“We had a good preparation after we came back from Dushanbe in Tajikstan. The boys are in a good frame of mind. We want to go for a push in this tournament," said the Spaniard. “Playing in Doha is important. The support of the fans will motivate us."Asked whether Qatar would be under pressure, Sanchez said, “It's good to play under pressure like what we did at the AFC Asian Cup and Copa America. We've to deal with each game separately."The three-time champions will also be hoping to end the year on a high note by winning the regional competition. But Sanchez is aware of the challenges as the hosts are clubbed with Iraq, UAE and Yemen.“We had played the UAE in the Asian Cup. We had a good result against them. But the Gulf Cup is a new tournament. If we've to progress to the knock-out stage, we must play with a positive frame of mind."Qatar captain Hassan Al Haidous said that the opening match in any tournament will always be a difficult one.But the Al Sadd striker also added, “Gulf Cup has a special flavour. We want to make our people happy with another great victory as we did at the Asian Cup in January."Squad: Saad al-Sheeb, Pedro, Salem al-Hajri, Tariq Salman, Abdulkarim Hassan, Boualem Khoukhi, Hassan al-Haydos, Akram Afif, Bassam al-Rawi, Almoez Ali, Karim Boudiaf, Ismail Hamad, Mohamed Montari, Ahmed Fathi, Mohamed Salah, Fahd Shanin, Youssef Abdel Razzaq, Musab Khader, Abdul Aziz Hatem, Fahd Younis, Mahdi Ali, Abdullah Abdul Salam, Mohamed Bakri.