DOHA (Qatar): The Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen (Hungary) will host Qatar’s first three matches in Group A of the European qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The Asian champions will kick off campaign against Luxembourg on Wednesday (24 March) followed by matches against Azerbaijan (27 March) and Republic of Ireland (30 March).
Qatar will play their ‘home’ fixtures on European soil to facilitate shorter travel times for their group opponents.
UEFA Euro 2016 winners Portugal, Serbia are the other teams in the group.
The European Football Association (UEFA) invited QFA to participate in the first European qualifiers for the 2022 event, in a move that reflects Doha’s position on the international sporting scene.
As the FIFA World Cup 2022 host nation, Qatar has already qualified for the tournament but is taking part in the qualifying to get match practice in the lead up to the next year’s competition.
The 20,340-seat Nagyerdei stadium is Hungary’s latest national football arena, where the Felix Sanchez-coached side will face the Europeans from March 21 to 30.
By joining Group A of the European Qualifiers, Qatar will benefit from 10 friendly games in the run-up to 2022, starting Wednesday this month.
29 players have been named in the final squad for the upcoming games in the European qualifiers.
