Inter Milan take on Paris Saint Germain in what will be an entertaining tie at the Jassim Bin Hamad stadium, home of QSL side Al Sadd on Wednesday evening.

Just before the press conference Mansour Al-Ansari, QFA General Secretary and Head of the LOC noted the excitement for both teams arriving in Qatar. “We were amazed at the response for the tickets for this friendly match. We have been sold out for the past three days. The demand for tickets from people here in Qatar and even outside was unbelievable. We are proud of this achievement. It shows the passion for both the teams in Qatar and the region.”

Ahead of the sold out tie, both head coaches and two star players from both sides spoke to the press about the tie. Both managers stressed the importance of preparation ahead of a tough second half of the season.

Inter coach Roberto Mancini was looking forward to the match, as this will be the first time Inter Milan has played in Qatar.  “We are very happy to be here. We have good weather and good infrastructure here. We will play PSG, one of the top European teams. It will be a good game and the fans who come to the stadium will see a fantastic game with fantastic players.”

Whilst his counterpart Laurent Blanc was expecting a tough encounter, “There are a lot of important matches in the French League and in the Champions League. We are training hard here and looking to benefit from this training camp. We hope for a good match against a team who are at the top of their league.”

This match is the second friendly tie between the two sides in as many years, and for midfielder Marco Veratti Qatar has been the ideal place to prepare for the second half of the season. “This is my third time in Doha and I am happy to be here. The game against Inter is an important one for us. We are happy with the great infrastructure here and the weather has been good too. That has helped our preparations for the season ahead.”

Inter are currently enjoying a slender one point lead at the top of Seria A, and Montenegrin striker Stevan Jovetić thinks a match against PSG can only benefit his side. “It's an important game for us against a great team like PSG. We will do our best to get a good result because in ten days we have a very important game in our league and a good performance here will help us in that match.”

Whilst both teams have higher aspirations this season, it is clear they see this test at the Jassim Bin Hamad stadium as the perfect way to end 2015, fully focused and prepared for a hectic start to 2016.