PRESS RELEASE – ADVANCE PARTY ARRIVES IN QATAR FOR TRAINING CAMP

With the Matao’s next FIFA World Cup qualification match now only a week away, members of the men’s senior national team have began gathering for a pre-match training camp in Qatar.

Ten of the 22-strong squad arrived on an early morning flight in the Qatari capital, Doha, where they will be based for a week before flying to Turkmenistan on Sunday.

That clash with Asia’s 155th ranked nation will be the fifth of eight second-round matches with Guam currently sitting joint top of Group D alongside Iran and Oman.

Head coach, Gary White, said this upcoming fixture will be the most crucial the side has yet faced.

“We know that these three points against a very good side in Turkmenistan will all-but guarantee us a spot in the final qualification for the 2019 Asian Cup which was one of our two objectives coming into this campaign – the second of which, of course, is qualifying for the World Cup.”

After resting during the day following the 16-hour journey the players were put through a light recovery session by the team’s Head of Sports Science, Andrew Young, designed to help freshen them up for the tougher training schedule ahead over the following week.

The Matao will be based at the stadium of one of the Middle East’s leading club sides, Al Wakrah, a state-of-the-art training facility that White says will have the group thoroughly prepared for the clash with Turkmenistan.

“This just shows how far football in Guam is progressing; for the last camp we had access to one of the leading facilities in Japan and now to be based here at a venue that will play a crucial role in the 2022 World Cup is such a coup for our team.”

“We’re going to Turkmenistan to win, to collect all three points and make sure we keep doing the people of Guam proud and this training camp is a crucial part of that preparation.”

The remainder of the squad is scheduled to arrive in Doha Tuesday.

After the October fixture against Turkmenistan, the Matao continue with qualification matches next month. Guam will play against India on Nov. 12 in Bangalore and then against I.R. Iran on Nov. 17 at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.

Tickets for the Nov. 17 home fixture against Asia’s No. 1-ranked country will be available for purchase at a later date to be announced by GFA.

The Matao, Guam men’s national team, engage in a training session in Doha, Qatar Monday. The Guam team is in a training camp in Qatar in preparation for its FIFA World Cup Qualifier match against Turkmenistan on Oct. 13. Photo courtesy of Scott McIntyre.