Doha, March 19 (QNA) - Qatar's national football team is determined defeat North Korea Thursday at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Coach Luis Garcia is finalizing tactics in today's training at Khalifa International Stadium. A victory is crucial for Qatar to stay in contention for direct qualification.

Garcia and North Korea's coach will hold press conferences ahead of the final training sessions. Al Adaam has been preparing since last Friday and aims for another victory against Kyrgyzstan on March 25 to boost qualification hopes.

Al Adaam is currently in a tough spot, sitting 4th in its group with 7 points from 2 wins (3-1 over Kyrgyzstan and 3-2 over Uzbekistan) and 1 draw (2-2 with North Korea), along with 3 losses (1-3 and 0-5 to the UAE, 1-4 to Iran). Qatar trails group leaders Iran by 9 points (16), second-place Uzbekistan by 6 points (13), and third-place UAE by 3 points (10), while Kyrgyzstan sits 5th with 3 points, just ahead of North Korea.

In response, coach Luis Garcia made adjustments to the squad, recalling experienced players like Khalfan Al Obaidly and Abdel Karim Hassan, along with Edmilson Junior and Abdulaziz Hatim. Pedro Miguel and Lucas Mendes return after recovering from injuries. (QNA)