PREVIEW-Qatar depart their party looking to avoid third successive loss

DOHA : World Cup hosts Qatar prematurely exit their own party on Tuesday, completing their campaign with a tough assignment against the Netherlands at the Al Bayt Stadium that leaves them facing the prospect of further humiliation.

The horror performance of the home side has come as a major disappointment as, despite years of intense preparation, they have been thoroughly underwhelming in their opening two Group A games. They were the first country eliminated on Friday, less than a week into the tournament, after losing 3-1 to Senegal.

That followed a 2-0 defeat by Ecuador in the tournament’s opening game last Sunday where the Qataris, the Asian champions, blamed stage fright for their poor showing.

But they was no visible improvement in their second game as they meekly fell out of contention and unless there is a considerable change, there could be an even more one-sided contest against the Netherlands and a horrid ending to their participation.

Qatar are the second host nation, after South Africa, to fail to get out of the group stages but may draw some inspiration from the 2010 hosts, who did upset France in their last group game 12 years ago.

The Dutch were always fancied to finish top of Group A in Qatar and could still do so but have not yet matched the bold predictions of coach Louis van Gaal, who has been repeatedly insisting they can go all the way to the final.

They needed two late goals to beat Senegal in their opening match last Monday and although they scored early in their next game against Ecuador, were outplayed and fortunate to share the spoils.

Four points, though, has the Dutch level at the top of group standings with Ecuador, with Senegal one point behind. A win for the Netherlands over Qatar puts them