Malacca, Malaysia: Qatar squad has arrived in Malacca in a chartered flight for Thursday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Syria. The Qatar Squad - headed by coach Felix Sanchez – will hit the training pitch on Wednesday at Hang Jebat Stadium. While both Qatar and China are no longer in the equation for automatic places in the World Cup, they still have a slim chance at third place and a route through the play-offs, but both teams should record victories in tomorrow’s matches. In June, Al Annabi produced a scintillating display in a 3-2 home victory over South Korea to revive hopes of a third place in the group. Fourth-placed Syria are four points behind Korea and three off Uzbekistan, in Group A, with two more matches to be played. They have not yet lost a game at their designated home venue in Malaysia and recently recalled powerhouse forward Omar Al Soma to the side for tomorrow’s tie against Qatar. Qatar took to Malaysia after defeating Turkmenistan 2-1 in a friendly match following an extensive training camp in Birmingham, England earlier this month. They played three friendly matches under English conditions and beat Leeds United 2-0, Andorra 1-0 and lost to Nottingham Forrest 1-2. Following the completion of group stage of 2018 Qualifiers, the third placed teams will play each other in a two-legged play-off in October with the aggregate winner facing the fourth-placed team from the Central and North America (CONCACAF) qualifying in November.