Doha: The Qatar national team concluded its current training camp with a 2-1 defeat to Zimbabwe in an international friendly at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. The match served as a final preparatory test ahead of the upcoming Arab Cup, which Qatar will host from December 1st to 18th.

Despite a strong start, the Maroons were unable to secure a positive result. Mohamed Khalid opened the scoring for Qatar in the 9th minute, but Zimbabwe responded with goals from Munashe Peter in the 24th and Bill Leroy in the 74th to claim the victory. The match saw moments of promise for Qatar, but defensive errors, including a mishandled corner and a mistake by the goalkeeper, ultimately proved costly.

Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui used the friendly to evaluate a large number of players, particularly integrating young faces and those from the training camp. He acknowledged the result was not ideal but emphasized the match's value for assessment. "It was a very important experience despite the loss, as it is part of our preparation for the upcoming challenges, chiefly the Arab Cup," Lopetegui stated. "We tried to give opportunities to more players to get a comprehensive evaluation, especially for the new ones."

The national team's preparations will resume after the conclusion of the tenth round of the Qatari League and the Asian Champions League commitments for Al Sadd, Al Duhail, and Al Gharafa players.