Asia's champion and C. Ronaldo in Nagyerdei Stadion

The Qatari national team is in Hungary once again. Debrecen hosts the 2019 Asia Cup winner, and their preparation match against Serbia and Portugal is scheduled for September 1 at 8.45pm and September 4 at 6pm, respectively, at the Nagyerdei Stadion. The Qataris already played three matches there in March, beating Luxembourg 1–0, Azerbaijan 2–1, and finishing with a 1–1 draw against Ireland. All clashes took place during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, and this is no coincidence that the European Football Association (UEFA) has asked next summer's host to play in the European Qualifying Series outside the competition. Although Qatar is automatically qualified for the World Cup as the host, they play with Group A's day-off team in every round.

THE MATCH AGAINST IRELAND

Luck played a big part that the two teams with the best players, Serbia and Portugal, are left in the fall, so the matches against them could be played in front of a full house. Ticket sales are currently taking place at the Nagyerdei Stadion and on nagyerdeistadion.hu. Tickets for the two matches can be purchased separately (Category I 3000 HUF, Category II 2000 HUF, VIP 22 000 HUF), but combined purchase is also available (Category I 5000 HUF, Category II 3000 HUF, VIP 40 000 HUF). Admission is free of charge for children aged six or younger, immunity cards must be presented for entry over 18, and guest fans are not allowed.

"So far, one or two thousand tickets have been sold for the match against Serbia and six to seven thousand tickets against the Portuguese," said László Páll, managing director of the Nagyerdei Stadion Operator Kft. in Debrecen. "More people are noticeably more curious of the Portuguese, even though the Serbian national team could arrive with several top-league football players, and there is a high chance of a great match. Combining the two games, the offer is particularly favorable."

According to our information, the Qataris will stay in the five-star Hotel Divinus, just like in March. The delegates have already arrived in Debrecen and will stay there until September 5, the day after the match against Portugal. The national team will hold its training sessions outside the Nagyerdei Stadion at the training center of the Debrecen Football Academy in Debrecen-Pallag. The Qataris' stay in Debrecen is an appreciation to the city, as they could've decided to hold their matches against the Serbs and Portuguese elsewhere. Vienna would've been an option because of their training camp in Austria or one of the stadiums in Budapest, Hungary. However, they had a very good experience in Debrecen in the spring which made it easier for them to choose. With their arrival, the city of Debrecen benefits financially in addition to the matter of prestige. They could spend more than 100 million HUF for overnight stays, renting the stadium, the training center, hosting the matches, and for other things. (Hotel Divinus Executive suite is available from 78,000 HUF, Royal suite costs 180,000 HUF, while the price of single rooms is 36-46 thousand HUF per night.)

And what can fans visiting the Nagyerdei Stadion on September 1st and 4th see? In the Serbian national team, Real Madrid striker Luka Jović and Ajax striker Dušan Tadić, and among the Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo, who returned to Manchester United, and “Red Devils" player Bruno Fernandes. The opponent Qatari national team is also a bright spot in international football, and the following compilation will help you understand why.

ELITE ACADEMY IN DOHA HELPS THE TRAINING

The name of the Aspire Academy in Asia sounds great. The facility in Doha, which opened in 2004, is the center of Qatar's sporting life. With the help of its extensive observation network, it gathers talented young people from all over the country and the world. In addition to turning them into excellent athletes in lavish conditions, it also oversees their education. The first big achievement of footballers leaving the academy was winning the 2014 U19 Asian Championship, and Qatar triumphed in this tournament for the first time in its history.

The players trained at the institution also played a significant role in the success of the adult team, the 2019 Asian Cup victory, as well as in the good performance at this year's Gold Cup and in reaching the semifinals. The spine of the national team is now the players graduating from the academy, but it's still not perfect. The vast majority of footballers play football in the Qatar Stars League, and very few athletes make it to Europe. However, those who succeed at a young age cannot stay long in the top leagues. One of the best examples is Akram Afif, who was given the opportunity to integrate into Spain, but Villarreal could not bring him up to the level of becoming a top-flight player. After loan transfers, he returned to his home country where he is one of the league's best footballers, but he does not play at the level that would effectively help prepare for the World Cup.

However, the expansion of Aspire Academy hasn't been prevented to launch training in Senegal to scout African talent. The academy also signed a partnership with Leeds United in 2018. The European distribution teams currently consist of Eupen in the Belgian topflight and Leonesa in the Spanish third division. The former employs footballers from Africa in particular. The first team currently includes Ghanaian Abdul Manaf Nurudeen and Isaac Nuhu, who were raised in the academy, and Silas Gnaka and Konan N'Dri from Côte d'Ivoire. A Qatari footballer, however, is rarely successful in the team.

EUROPEAN STARS, INVESTMENTS

Material prosperity not only allows Qatar to run elite academies but also to lure football icons to the forefront. A good example is Raúl González. The legendary striker for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team played football for Al Sadd between 2012 and 2014 and won the Prince Cup with the team in addition to the Qatari league title. Barcelona's Xavi Hernández can also be linked with the Doha club. He arrived in Qatar from the Catalans in 2015 to play his last years before retirement. He liked life so much there that he has been working with the club ever since. He helped the team as a player until 2019 and is currently acting as head coach.

Even if Qatari clubs can't get much closer to European top football than the Club World Cup, the country's businessmen make sure the locals still have a big team to embrace. It's been ten years since Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) bought Paris Saint-Germain and made it one of the richest clubs in Europe that has been able to fund and attract world stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimović, David Beckham, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, and Lionel Messi. Parisian president Nasser Al-Khelaifi's list is now short of a Champions League trophy only, but with the Argentine striker who has won the Ballon d'Or six times, they may not have to wait long.

EVER-EVOLVING NATIONAL TEAM

The Qatari national team has also benefited from the huge financial investments of the last 10 to 15 years, although perhaps not as intensely as previously expected at the federation. The Qatar Football Association (QFA) was founded in 1960 and became a member of the International Football Confederation (FIFA) ten years later. The national team played its first match in 1970, and its first World Cup qualifier took place in 1977. They were closest to qualifying before the 1998 tournament but lost the decisive match to Saudi Arabia 1–0. The turning point in the national team came when Qatar was awarded the right in December 2010 to host the 2022 World Cup. The special feature of the tournament is that due to the hot weather, it will be held between November 21 and December 18.

Since being awarded to host it, the Qatari national team has been taking preparations even more seriously. They are also trying to continuously integrate footballers leaving the Aspire Academy into the team and constantly nationalize players for deeper immersion opportunities. Sepp Blatter, then FIFA president, warned the Qataris in 2015 that he could impose sanctions if they carry winning players over to extremes. Despite the warnings, the UAE complained against the game of two Qatari players Sudanese-born Almoez Ali and Iraqi-born Bassam al-Rawi, at the 2019 Asia Cup which Qatar won, but the protest was swept off the table by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Qatar ranks 42nd in the latest FIFA world rankings (Hungary is 37th), which is a huge improvement from the 101st place announced on July 4, 2013. However, besides the matches against Serbia and Portugal in Debrecen, mainly the 2022 World Cup hosted at home can answer the team's real strength.

Translated by Vanda Orosz