We decided tonight that I will go to Doha tomorrow to see the UAE play Iraq in a key Asian Cup game.

It’s the second match in Group D play. The so-called Group of Death (every tournament has to have one). The UAE can’t clinch a spot in the second round, nor can it be eliminated, but it can move a significant distance one way or another with a win or a defeat.

So, this is what it looks like, in terms of logisitics:

Out the door at 12:30, a ride with Benjamin to the Abu Dhabi airport,  a one-hour Qatar Airlines ride over the Gulf … then out of the airport and to the media center, which is next to the big stadium … bit not where the game is.

And then a bus to the Al Rayyan Stadium, on the edge of the city, see the 7:15 p.m. match, file an 800-word commentary soon after it ends … and then back to town, presumably to one of the media hotels where cabs might be found … and back to the airport for a 1 a.m. flight to Abu Dhabi, landing at 3 — because of the one-hour time difference.

Pretty tight. And I’m heading into this a loittle bit blind — though it helped massively that my colleague Ahmed Rizvi has been in Doha for a week and was able to give me tips on where to go and how to get there.

Anyway, I’ve done far crazier stuff than this. But I was never this old before, either.

Let you know how it turns out.

Oh, and the Group of Death thing … the group has Iran, one of the best sides in Asia and a three-time winner of this event … Iraq, the defending champion … North Korea, which played in the World Cup in South Africa last summer … and the UAE, which has been playing better of late.

No other group is as tough. That seems fair to say.

So,  yeah. Kinda excited about the whole thing.