Qatar meet Republic of Ireland on neutral territory at Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary, in an international friendly.
Having suffered defeat in their two World Cup qualifiers, Republic of Ireland face a tough test of their quality as they face Qatar for the very first time.
Team News
Qatar have no fresh injury concerns to report after Saturday’s 2-1 win over Azerbaijan.
Republic of Ireland will be without Aaron Connolly after the Brighton striker withdrew with a calf injury, ahead of Saturday’s shock home defeat to Luxembourg.
Stat Attack
- This is Qatar’s first-ever meeting against Republic of Ireland in all competitions.
- Qatar have won just two of their last five friendlies (W2, D1, L2).
- Ireland have lost just one of their last five friendlies (W2, D2, L1).
- Three Qatar players have each scored twice in two of their last three matches.
- Two of Ireland’s last three goals have come after half time.
Prediction
As host nations of next year’s World Cup, Qatar are certainly building nicely with goals in 13 of their last 15 matches in all competitions with an entertaining 4-4-3 attacking style compromising of a squad made up of largely home grown players from Quatari clubs.
After making a positive step forward in Serbia last Wednesday, Ireland should be deeply disappointed with Saturday’s embarrassing defeat against a lowly Luxembourg team who dug in and were just that more clinical with their shots on target.
On that note, I think this is likely to be a crucial game for Ireland and in particular Stephen Kenny because if they lose this, he surely has to go because their form under him has been dire.
Qatar will meanwhile be relishing this clash because if they can impose themselves quickly and score first, I can see just one result coming because Ireland just lack any real fight up front or consistency.
Prediction: Qatar 2-0 ROI
Result: Qatar 1-1 ROI
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