Qatar meets China tonight at the Al Sadd stadium in the Group one qualifying stage of the world cup at 7 pm tonight. Qataris I have spoken too are quietly confident that the heat, which reached 44 degrees in the day yesterday and is still cloying at night, will prove too much for the China players. China thinks differently, as they have been training in heat, and their players will be equipped with special water cooled vests. China state they are more worried about Qatar's naturalised players, especially Sebastian Quintana, who originates from Uruguay.
Qatar and Qataris are very keen on football, and is currently nurturing talent at its world class sporting academy, Aspire. Friends working there have told me that the centre only employs staff who are at the very top of their profession, and its scouts travel widely to choose the best promising talent from thousands of applicants in Africa and, more recently, Vietnam.
I expected my Qatari friend, who is a keen football supporter, to be at the match tonight. Unfortunately, he plans to watch the match from home, citing the heat, the traffic and the capacity of the stadium as his excuses.
If you don't want to watch the match but do want to know who wins, you don't need to check the internet or the newspaper. Just wait, and if Qatar wins you will soon hear a cacophony of honking horns as thousands of Qatar fans make they way round the city.
Also see:
Qatar Football
World 2010 Qualifying Asia: Group 1
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