Bengaluru, December 9: FIFA 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar have been included as a guest team in European World Cup qualifying Group A as part of their preparation for hosting the quadrennial extravaganza in two year's time, the UEFA announced.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup champions' results in Group A, which also contains the Republic of Ireland, Serbia, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg, will not count towards qualification as they are already assured of a place in the finals given their status as hosts.
They will face each side twice, but their home matches will be staged in Europe to allow shorter flight times for their opponents.
It is hoped that Qatar, who are also set to play in the Copa America and Gold Cup next year, will gain further experience from competing against European nations such as Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal.
World Cup hosts Qatar will compete in Gold Cup
UEFA confirmed that Qatar would begin their campaign against Luxembourg at a neutral venue yet to be confirmed on March 24, 2021.
Felix Sanchez Bas' side, who are ranked 59th in the world and won their first-ever AFC Asian Cup in 2019 with a 3-1 win over Japan in last year's final, will take on Portugal next September and October.
Breaking news: 🇶🇦 Qatar National Team to join @UEFA qualifying for #Qatar2022 for friendlies against Group A teams, including Portugal (@SelecaoPortugal), @FAIreland and more. pic.twitter.com/0rYq4ZIGPk
— Road to 2022 (@roadto2022en) December 8, 2020
The Gulf nation has been placed as a shadow team in the group and will play friendly games against whichever team has a free date on a given matchday.
The move goes very much in line with the approach taken by France for the 2016 European Championship that they hosted.
In a break from the normal tradition of hosting the FIFA World Cup in the June-July window, Qatar 2022 will be held in winter with the tournament starting on November 21 and ending on December 18 to coincide with the Qatar National Day.
Qatar 2022: Know more about the FIFA World Cup stadiums
The reigning Asian champions are building eight stadiums for biggest football show on earth.
Three stadiums -- Khalifa International, Al Janoub and Educational City -- are already complete and hosted many matches in 2020 amidst the raging novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Three more tournament venues -- Al Rayyan, Al Bayt and Al Thumama -- are in the final stages of construction, while the main works at the remaining two stadiums - Ras Abu Aboud and Lusail - will be complete by 2021.