Linfield shocked World Cup hosts Qatar in a practice game on Tuesday evening, Chris McKee bagging the winner in a stunning 1-0 victory in southern Spain.
The Blues have spent the past week at the Marbella Football Centre fine-tuning their fitness ahead of next month’s European campaign. And David Healy’s men ended their training camp on a positive note with an impressive victory over the Qatari national team.
Qatar, hosts of this year’s World Cup which is being held in November and December, have lost just one of their last nine internationals.
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They are also ranked 51st in the world, three places above Northern Ireland and higher than the likes of Greece, Finland, Iceland and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
But Chris McKee, who recently joined Linfield on a permanent deal after spending the second half of last season on loan from Rangers, scored the winner in the 19th minute.
And it was a lead the Blues, who had summer signing Joel Cooper and teenage midfielder Josh Archer in their starting XI, held onto until the full-time whistle.
After McKee had fired Linfield ahead, one supporter asked on Twitter: "If we win, do we get their spot at the World Cup?"
Qatar kick-off their World Cup campaign against Ecuador on November 21, with the Netherlands and Senegal also in their group pool.
In their last international outings in March, ‘The Maroon’ defeated Bulgaria 2-1 and drew 0-0 with Slovenia in Doha.
Qatar fielded a hugely experienced side against Linfield, including captain Hassan Al-Haydos, Abdelkarim Hassan and Karim Boudiaf who have amassed 384 caps between them.
Head coach Felix Sanchez named seven players who featured in the recent draw with Slovenia in his starting line-up so it has to go down as a stunning result in the Belfast club’s first outing of pre-season.
Linfield face The New Saints of Wales over two legs in the first qualifying round of the Champions League on July 5 and 13.
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