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LoginQatar Face El Salvador in Final World Cup Warm-up as Lopetegui Weighs Starting Line-up
Doha, June 05 (QNA) - Qatar will play their final friendly match before the 2026 FIFA World Cup when they take on El Salvador on Saturday at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
The fixture represents the last opportunity for head coach Julen Lopetegui to assess his squad before the tournament gets under way in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The Asian champions are currently based in Santa Barbara, California, where they are completing their final training camp ahead of the World Cup. Qatar arrive after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Republic of Ireland in Dublin on May 28.
Saturday's encounter is expected to help Lopetegui settle on the core of his starting line-up before Qatar begin their Group B campaign against Switzerland in San Francisco on June 13 .
Qatar will then travel to Vancouver to face hosts Canada on June 18 before concluding the group stage against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Seattle on June 24.
Lopetegui has named a 26-man squad for the tournament, featuring established figures including Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Hassan Al Haydos and Karim Boudiaf. The Spanish coach has also introduced several new faces, with 12 players set to make their World Cup debut.
Having won back-to-back Asian Cup titles in 2019 and 2023, Qatar will hope to carry that success onto the global stage. The El Salvador friendly is viewed as a key final test, offering both tactical preparation and a chance to build confidence ahead of the tournament.
Qatar are seeking to improve on their previous World Cup appearance in 2022, when they competed as hosts. This time, having qualified through the competition pathway, the team is aiming to progress beyond the group stage for the first time and challenge for a place in the knockout rounds. (QNA)
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