Mohammed Muntari nets as Qatar beat Nicaragua in pre-World Cup friendly

Ghanaian-born striker Mohammed Muntari was on target for Qatar in their 2-1 win over Nicaragua in a friendly match in Marbella, Spain on Thursday night. Qatar, who are training in Spain as they prepare for their World debut at home, are playing friendly matches against national teams and clubs ahead of the global showpiece. Afif opened the scoring for Qatar with a stoppage-time penalty against Nicaragua, who are ranked 142nd in the world. The Asian champions doubled the lead in the 70th minute with Muntari finding the net but the Central Americans halved the deficit five minutes later as Galeano struck to equalise. While Qatar managed to see the game off, they could have increased the scoreline only for Afif to miss a penalty late in the game. Felix Sanchez, who has taken a 27-player squad for the final phase of preparatory camp for the World Cup, named a strong line-up for the friendly match. Qatar begin their World Cup against Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium on November 20 before taking on African champions Senegal and the Netherlands in Group A.

Ghanaian-born striker Mohammed Muntari was on target for Qatar in their 2-1 win over Nicaragua in a friendly match in Marbella, Spain on Thursday night. Qatar, who are training in Spain as they prepare for their World debut at home, are playing friendly matches against national teams and clubs ahead of the global showpiece. Afif opened the scoring for Qatar with a stoppage-time penalty against Nicaragua, who are ranked 142nd in the world. The Asian champions doubled the lead in the 70th minute with Muntari finding the net but the Central Americans halved the deficit five minutes later as Galeano struck to equalise. While Qatar managed to see the game off, they could have increased the scoreline only for Afif to miss a penalty late in the game. Felix Sanchez, who has taken a 27-player squad for the final phase of preparatory camp for the World Cup, named a strong line-up for the friendly match. Qatar begin their World Cup against Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium on November 20 before taking on African champions Senegal and the Netherlands in Group A.