Preview: Qatar vs. Republic of Ireland - prediction, team news, lineups

Republic of Ireland will be looking to bounce back from Saturday's shock defeat to Luxembourg when they face Qatar in a friendly on Tuesday evening.

Stephen Kenny's side have lost their first two World Cup 2022 qualification matches to sit bottom of Group A, but Qatar will be present at the finals of the competition due to their position as hosts.

Match preview

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UEFA have allowed Qatar to join Republic of Ireland's qualifying group to provide them with 10 friendlies in Europe ahead of the 2022 competition, where they will be present as hosts.

The Maroons have already been in action twice during the current international break, recording a 1-0 win over Luxembourg on Wednesday before beating Azerbaijan 2-1 on Saturday to make it three straight victories in all competitions, having also thrashed Bangladesh 5-0 in December.

Qatar will be competing in their first ever World Cup next year, but they are the reigning Asian champions, having recorded a 3-1 win over Japan in the final of the competition in February 2019.

Under the management of former Barcelona youth coach Felix Sanchez, Qatar will also take on Portugal twice, Luxembourg and Republic of Ireland in friendlies later this year as they work towards the finals.

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Republic of Ireland, as mentioned, have made a disastrous start to their qualification section, losing their opening two matches to sit bottom of the group on zero points.

Kenny's side showed signs of encouragement away to Serbia on March 24 as they suffered a 3-2 loss, but Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Luxembourg in Dublin has left them in a tough position.

There is still plenty of football to play, but ROI have arguably their toughest game of Group A up next, travelling to Portugal at the start of September, while they will also take on Azerbaijan and Serbia in quick succession.

The Boys in Green will not be present at this summer's European Championships, having lost on penalties to Slovakia in the playoff final.

Meanwhile, they have not made it to the finals of a World Cup since 2002, missing out on each of the last four tournaments in Germany, South Africa, Brazil and Russia.

Team News

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Qatar did not pick up any injury problems during their win over Azerbaijan on Saturday, meaning that head coach Sanchez will have the same squad to choose from on Tuesday evening.

The Spaniard could ultimately decide to select the same starting XI before using his bench in the second period, with Ahmed Alaa Eldin and Almoez Ali operating in the final third of the field.

Hassan El Heidos scored both goals on Saturday to make it 30 for his national side in 137 appearances, while Ali is the second-highest leading goalscorer in the squad with 29.

As for the Republic of Ireland, head coach Kenny is expected to shuffle his pack from the side that started against Luxembourg in Dublin.

James McClean, Shane Long and Troy Parrott could all come into the XI in the final third of the field, while Jeff Hendrick and Shane Duffy are also in contention for starting roles in Debrecen.

Mark Travers and Gavin Bazunu have started the team's last two matches between the sticks, but Kieran O'Hara could now be given the nod against Qatar as Kenny prepares to use his squad.

Qatar possible starting lineup:

Al Sheeb; Hisham, Khoukhi, Al Bayati; Pedro, Al Heidos, Madibo, Abdulsalam, Ahmed; Ali, Eldin

Republic of Ireland possible starting lineup:

O'Hara; Coleman, O'Shea, Duffy; Doherty, Hendrick, Molumby, Stevens; Long, Parrott, McClean

We say: Qatar 1-1 Republic of Ireland

There will be no points on offer to Republic of Ireland on Tuesday, but they will still be determined to return to winning ways, which would certainly boost their confidence. Qatar have a number of talented players, though, and we can see a low-scoring draw being played out in Hungary.