Teams get ready for the fight in Doha

14 sides will compete as of tomorrow, after Palestine FA announced that administrative issues will prevent the team from taking part in the Qualifier

The official training day this Sunday, the 22nd,  will be the last chance for the 14 teams in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015 – AFC Qualifier Qatar to test their actual level ahead of the fiercely demanding competition kicking off on Monday the 23^rd. This official training day will also let them experience, for the first time, the sand of the Katara Beach stadium. 

Earmarked favourites Japan, Iran, and UAE, are among the 15 best teams in the world, according to the BSWW World Rankings, might be feeling extra pressure tonight, as hosts Qatar will be feeling the responsibility to do their best in front of the crowd. With the amazing increase of talent within the Asian Beach Soccer, any prediction can only be regarded as uncertain.

Before the competition starts, the number of participating teams has been reduced to 14. The Palestinian Football Association officially communicated to the Asian Football Confederation and Beach Soccer Worldwide that the team will not be able to take part in the competition, due to administrative issues outside of the event.

Group B will then remain with three teams: the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Iraq. Notwithstanding, these changes will not affect the match schedule of the rest of the groups.

After the oficial training sessions, the competition will be ready for kick, off, with a first match day that goes as follows:

Monday 23.03.15

12.30 – UAE vs Iraq (Group C)

15.00 – Oman vs Bahrain (Group A)

16.15 – China vs Vietnam (Group B)

17.30 – Japan vs Kuwait (Group B)

18.45 – Qatar vs Laos (Group A)

20.00 – Iran vs Lebanon (Group D)