Qatar continue their preparations for the home World Cup 2022 with a friendly battle against Bulgaria at the Education City Stadium in Doha on Saturday evening.
While the hosts are already looking ahead to the continental showpiece event later this year, their visitors unsurprisingly failed to qualify for the World Cup.
Match preview
While the imminent World Cup in Qatar continues to be mired in controversy over off-the-field problems, Felix Sanchez's side can only focus on their task at hand on the pitch, and they have done a pretty good job of that over the past few months.
Still forced to go through qualification despite their status as hosts, Qatar won seven and drew one of their eight matches in a dominant showing during the second round in Group E - only Australia and Japan with their perfect records amassed more points - and they collected bronze medals at the recent Arab Cup.
Attempting to get one over ultimate champions Algeria was a step too far for Qatar, but Sanchez's side managed to overcome Egypt on penalties in their third-placed playoff after a 0-0 draw, with Mohamed Sherif missing the crucial penalty for Egypt.
Ending a miserable streak of seven friendly defeats on the bounce would be a surefire way to increase the morale within the hosts' ranks, with Qatar also due to take on Slovenia in an exhibition encounter on Tuesday as their inaugural World Cup campaign draws ever closer.
Still waiting for their first World Cup appearance since the turn of the millennium, Bulgaria were never expected to disrupt the harmony and pip either Switzerland or Italy to one of the top two spots in Group C, with their fate sealed before the final matchday.
A trip to the Swissporarena ended in a 4-0 humbling for Yasen Petrov's men, with Noah Okafor, Cedric Itten, Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas propelling Switzerland to the top of the rankings and condemning Bulgaria to another World Cup campaign of watching on from home.
In spite of their failure to qualify for the 2022 tournament, Bulgaria managed to pick up some notable results along the way - holding Italy to a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 win over Northern Ireland being particular highlights - while just two defeats from their last seven in all tournaments is hardly the worst record in the world either.
It has been nearly six years since Bulgaria last won a friendly match away from home, though - overcoming North Macedonia 2-0 in March 2016, only four days after a memorable victory over Portugal - but a first-ever meeting with Qatar certainly presents Petrov's men with a realistic shot of ending that miserable streak before a daunting battle with Croatia.
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Team News
As expected, Sanchez has stuck with the majority of the squad which came so close yet so far in December's Arab Cup, with winger-turned-defender Boualem Khoukhi set to marshal the hosts' backline.
Striker Almoez Ali struck three goals at the Arab Cup and is now only three away from becoming the all-time top goalscorer in Qatar's history, with Mubarak Mustafa still leading the way with 41.
Meanwhile, Bulgaria have called up a healthy mixture of youth and experience for March's friendlies, with defenders Alex Petkov and Miki Orachev both hoping to earn their first caps for their nation.
Goalkeeper Ivan Karadzhov acted as the last line of defence in the 4-0 loss to Switzerland last time out but is not involved this time around, while experienced attacker Dimitar Iliev is not in the squad either.
Skipper Kiril Despodov and Todor Nedelev - the top scorer in the current ranks with five strikes - ought to shoulder the goalscoring burden against the World Cup hosts with vice-captain Iliev sitting this one out.
Qatar possible starting lineup:
Barsham; Mohammed, Salman, Khoukhi, Waad, Hassan; Madibo, Boudiaf; Al-Ahrak; Ali, Afif
Bulgaria possible starting lineup:
Mihaylov; Turitsov, Dimitrov, Hristov, Orachev; Kirilov, Kostadinov, Chochev, Nedelev; Delev, Despodov
We say: Qatar 1-1 Bulgaria
Facing European opposition has normally only ended one way for Qatar in recent friendlies, but Sanchez's crop performed valiantly in the Arab Cup and can certainly trouble this Bulgaria rearguard.
That being said, Petrov's men have started to turn up the heat in the past few months, and we cannot separate the two sides on this occasion.
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