Injured Muntari Will not Play in Gulf Cup as QFA Names Final Squad

As the Qatar Football Association (QFA) on Tuesday announced the final 23-man Al Annabi team for the forthcoming competition to be held in Basra, Iraq, Muhammed Muntari would be absent from the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup.

Muntari, who scored the lone goal for Qatar at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, was forced to withdraw from the competition after sustaining a knee injury in practise, according to the Qatar Football Association (QFA).

The Al Duhail player was earlier named in the revamped 27-player preliminary squad which excluded senior players – Al Haydos , Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Abdulaziz Hatem, Karim Boudiaf, Abdelkarim Hassan, Boualam Khoukhi, Bassam Al Rawi, Saad Al Sheeb and Pedro Miguel.

The reigning Asian champions Qatar will begin their campaign on January 7 against Kuwait before taking on Bahrain on January 10.

On January 13, the UAE will host the three-time champions in their last Group B match.

Group A includes the four hosts: Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.

Bruno Pinheiro, a Portuguese coach, will lead Qatar at the Gulf Cup in place of Felix Sanchez, a Spanish coach.

The senior players Al Haydos, Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Abdulaziz Hatem, Karim Boudiaf, Abdelkarim Hassan, Boualam Khoukhi, Bassam Al Rawi, Saad Al Sheeb, and Pedro Miguel were left out of the updated 27-player preliminary squad.

The reigning Asian champions Qatar will begin their campaign on January 7 against Kuwait before taking on Bahrain on January 10.

On January 13, the UAE will host the three-time champions in their last Group B match.

The tournament’s organising committee had already said that both the Al Mina and Basra International stadiums are fully prepared to host the event.

Qatar Squad:

Meshaal Barsham, Mahmoud Abu Nada, Shehab El Laithi

Hashim Ali, Yousuf Abdurisag, Muhammad Waad, Moustafa Tarek, Tarek Salman, Diab Haroun, Emad Mohammed, Ismaeel Mohammed, Ali Asad, Salem Al Hajri, Amro Siraj, Homam Al Amin, Tamim Mansour, Al Hadhrami, Assim Madibo, Jassim Jaber, Hazem Ahmed, Khaled Muneer, Ahmed Fadel, Ahmed