The national football team held its first training session in Doha this evening, following its arrival yesterday, in preparation for participating in the 2025 Arab Cup, scheduled to take place in Qatar from December 1st to 18th.
The team will play in Group C alongside the national teams of Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait. They will kick off their campaign against Jordan (Al-Nishama) at Al Bayt Stadium next Wednesday, then face Egypt on December 6th at Lusail Stadium, and conclude their group stage matches against Kuwait on the 9th at Stadium 974.
The team's mission had departed for Doha yesterday from Dubai International Airport after the national team concluded a short training camp in Dubai, during which they conducted three training sessions at the Dubai Police Officers Club.
In an interview with "Al-Imarat al-Youm", the goalkeeping coach, Dr. Zakaria Ahmed, commented on the absence of the main goalkeeper, Khaled Eisa, due to injury. He stated that this is a "golden opportunity" for head coach Olarion Cosmin to appoint the talented goalkeeper Hamad Al-Maqbali as the starting keeper for the Arab Cup.
Al-Maqbali is a player with distinguished statistics from last season, having been the main goalkeeper for both the Olympic team and his club, Shabab Al-Ahli. He has proven his presence with force and deserves to replace Khaled Eisa in the team's lineup," affirmed Zakaria Ahmed.
He added that "goalkeeper Hamad Al-Maqbali has proven his worth over the past period, and the Arab Cup is the perfect tournament to give him the opportunity, as he is a key element the team relies on, along with his colleagues in goalkeeping."
Zakaria confirmed that "Hamad Al-Maqbali is ready to play in the starting lineup for the national team in the Arab Cup," considering that "there is no gamble in starting him, as he has proven his worth and written his birth certificate as a promising goalkeeper."
He continued: "Shabab Al-Ahli won the league and the President's Cup last season with their goalkeeper Hamad Al-Maqbali, who has the highest number of clean sheets in the league so far, with his goal conceding only one goal in the first eight rounds of the ADNOC Pro League. This reflects the team's excellent defensive system, in addition to an outstanding goalkeeper as well."
Zakaria Ahmed pointed out that Al-Maqbali was remarkable in goalkeeping throughout the past year, according to the statistics he has achieved from last season to the current one, adding: "Therefore, I fully support his appointment as the starting goalkeeper for the national team in the Arab Cup."
The Football Association announced on its official account on the X platform that the team's squad includes 24 players: Ali Khasif, Hamad Al-Maqbali, Adel Al-Hosni, Ruben Philip, Lucas Pimenta, Kwame Kwadwo, Alaeddin Zuhair, Sasha Ivkovic, Richard O'Connor, Marcus Milloni, Khalid Al-Zanahi, Gustavo Alex, Ali Saleh, Harib Abdullah, Esam Faisal, Nicolas Gimenez, Yahya Nader, Majid Rashid, Yahya Al-Ghusain, Luan Pereira, Caio Lucas, Bruno Oliveira, Mohammed Jumaa, Sultan Adel.
