DOHA: Qatar juniors are set to play a series of friendly matches this month and in October in preparation for the AFC U-19 Asian Cup.

The biennial event will be played in Indonesia from October 18 to November 4. Qatar, former champions, have hosts Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and the UAE in their group.

Qatar’s matches will be played on October 18, 21 and 24.

The first two teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals, and the winners from those fixtures qualify for the semi-finals. The top four teams qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be played in Poland next year.

In their recent fixtures, Qatar beat Venezuela 1-0 at Aspire Academy. The two teams played out a goalless draw earlier in the week.

Qatar take on Vietnam on September 16 in another friendly. Qatar juniors face Ivory Coast on September 22.

Qatar take on Iran on October 2 and then face Jordan on October 5. Qatar’s last friendly will be against Malaysia on October 8.

After the match in Malaysia, on the same day, the Qatar squad will head to Indonesia to start their final preparation camp before the AFC championship.

Qatar won the same event in October 2014 and qualified for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in New Zealand.

The young Qatar side has played several friendly matches during the past months including games against Morocco, Russia, Uruguay, Valencia, England, Mecico and China. Qatar also featured in Toulon Friendly Tournament in France in May and C.O.T.I.F tournament in Spain in July.