Eight Qatar U-23 players to join senior squad camp

Eight players from the Qatar U-23 squad will join the training camp of the national senior squad, which is currently underway in Spain, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) announced on Thursday.Captain and goalkeeper Salah Zakaria, Jassim Gaber, Ahmed Suhail, Yusuf Abdurisag, Osama al-Tiri, Naif al-Hadhrami, Mohamed Ayash and Mustafa Tariq are the eight young players who will link up with the senior stars. The players were part of the Qatar U-23 squad which bowed out of the AFC Asian Cup in Uzbekistan, where they failed to go beyond the group stage. Al Annabi, coached by Felix Sanchez, are currently training in Marbella, Spain as part of their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 preparation. The training camp which started on June 2 will continue till June 28. Qatar are also expected to play friendly matches during the camp. Following the addition of eight junior players, Qatar’s strength has reached 35 players as Sanchez initially named 27 players for the training camp. Qatar are in Group A of the World Cup where they will face European giants Netherlands, African champions Senegal and Ecuador. The home team will kick off their campaign with a match against Ecuador on November 21 at the Al Bayt Stadium. Quarter-finalists decided at U-23 Asian CupThe quarter-final cast for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan was finalised following the conclusion of Group D in Tehran yesterday. All four former champions advanced, with two teams who finished runners-up previously, a side who were third two years ago and a debutant joining them.Uzbekistan, the 2018 champions, were the first team to advance, booking their quarter-final spot with a match to spare as the Group A winners with debutant side Turkmenistan pipping Iran and Qatar to finish as runners-up.Australia, third two years ago, topped Group B with seven points as 2013 champions Iraq took second spot ahead of Jordan and Kuwait. Defending champions South Korea won twice and drew once as they clinched first place in Group C with Vietnam, the 2018 runners-up, advancing as well with Thailand and Malaysia eliminated.Saudi Arabia, runners-up in 2013 and 2020, topped Group D ahead of Japan on goal difference after defeating United Arab Emirates 2-0 on Thursday. Japan beat Tajikistan 3-0 to finish second. The quarter-finals will kick-off tomorrow with Australia playing Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan facing Iraq in the later match. South Korea will play Japan on Sunday followed by Saudi Arabia against Vietnam.