By Armstrong Vas / The Peninsula

Youthful Qatar aims to finish the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign on a high note as they hope to upset China’s slim chances of qualifying for the finals in Russia.

The 2022 World Cup hosts, who have all but ended their qualification hopes, take on coach Marcello Lippi’s side today.

Coach Felilx Sanchez’s side had a lean patch in the final round of qualification registering just two wins.

The match will be the first international to be played at the Khalifa International Stadium which will host games of the 2022 World Cup finals. The Stadium was reconstructed and declared open in May this year during the Emir Cup final.

“We know it is our last option and we cannot go anywhere (cannot qualify). In this situation, the players are motivated for the game. Hopefully we play a good game as a competitive team for 90 minutes,” said the Spanish coach of the Qatar team, for whom this is only his second match in charge since replacing Jorge Fossati.

“We aim to improve and get better and finish on a high note,” he added.

Qatar coach Felix Sanchez speaking at a press conference held at the Khalifa International Stadium yesterday. Picture: Kammutty VP

Sanchez, who was in charge of the youth teams of Qatar and has since graduated to the senior team, said he will continue with the bunch of young players who made their debut against Syria in the last match of the qualifiers which they lost 3-1 in the away match in Malaysia.

“We will go into the match with the mentality to win the match and have a good result. We will retain the same block of players who played against Syria.”

Asked about his opponents, Sanchez said: “ They have good individuals players and good as a team which is their strength and we aim to match them with a good performance.”

“We could not qualify this time, but it’s not the end of the road. We have several promising players and we can build a quality side for the 2022 World Cup added Sanchez.

The Spaniard, who is also the coach of Olympic side, said Qatar must look to the future.

“We have the 2019 Asian Cup and other assignments in our plans. We need to work really hard to develop a strong squad for the 2022 tournament,” he added.