Qatar, having already rested many senior players, will also be without Mohamed Muntari for the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup after the striker injured his knee in training.
The Qatar Football Association yesterday named the final 23-man squad for the tournament, which will kick off on Friday in Basra, Iraq. The team, which underwent a 10-day training camp at the Aspire Academy, will leave for Iraq today. The three-time champions open their campaign against Kuwait on Saturday. They will also meet defending champions Bahrain on January 10 and the UAE on January 13 in other Group matches. Hosts Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman are in Group A.
Muntari’s absence is a massive blow for Qatar, who are going to the tournament with many newcomers after the debacle at the World Cup, where they lost their all three group matches. Those who have been rested include captain Hassan al-Haydos, Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Abdulaziz Hatem, Karim Boudiaf, Abdelkarim Hassan, Boualam Khoukhi, Bassam al-Rawi, Saad al-Sheeb and Pedro Miguel.
Qatar will be coached by Portuguese Bruno Pinheiro, who replaced Spaniard Felix Sanchez. Meanwhile, the organising committee of the tournament had earlier announced complete readiness to host the event which will take place at Basra International and Al Mina stadiums.
Qatar Squad
Meshaal Barsham, Mahmoud Abu Nada, Shehab El Laithi, Hashim Ali, Yousuf Abdurisag, Mohamed Waad, Moustafa Tarek, Tarek Salman, Diab Haroun, Emad Mohamed, Ismaeel Mohamed, Ali Asad, Salem al-Hajri, Amro Siraj, Homam al-Amin, Tamim Mansour, Naif al-Hadhrami, Assim Madibo, Jassim Jaber, Hazem Ahmed, Khaled Muneer, Ahmed Fadel, Ahmed Alaaeldin
Mohamed Muntari
Basra International Stadium, also known as the Palm Trunk stadium, will host the opening ceremony of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup in Iraq’s southern city of Basra on Friday. (AFP)
