Qatar train in Houston ahead of Gold Cup debut

Qatar players Hassan al-Haydos (left) and Almoez Ali train in Houston.

With just over three days to go until they step out in Houston, Texas, for their Gold Cup 2021 debut against Panama, Qatar’s players were put through their paces in their training session at Holloway field. Felix Sanchez and his 23-man squad looked in high spirits during the workout on Thursday morning; another gym session was held in the evening. Qatar concluded a three-week training camp in Croatia earlier in the week where they beat Croatia’s national team – consisting exclusively of home-based players – and El Salvador. The tournament draw placed Qatar, participating as a guest team for the first time in the competition’s history, in Group D alongside Panama, Grenada and Honduras. Al Annabi will kick things off against Panama on July 13 and then face Grenada on the 17th before concluding the group stage against Honduras on the 20th. Mexico, the defending champions, are in Group A, along with El Salvador and Curaçao and one of the teams from the preliminary round. At the same time, the US will play in Group B, with Canada, Martinique and a preliminary winner. As for Group C, it consists of Costa Rica, Jamaica and Suriname, in addition to a preliminary round qualifier as well. Qatar – the 2019 AFC Asian Cup champion – is the seventh non-CONCACAF country to compete in the Gold Cup, the first from the Arab world, and the second to represent the Asian Football Confederation in the competition after South Korea.