World Cup Preview: Qatar

Qatar are appearing in their second World Cup after making their debut as host nation in 2022. This time around, they qualified in their own right but come into the tournament as the lowest-ranked team in Group B.

Fixtures (UK time)

Switzerland, June 13, 8pm
Canada, June 18, 11pm
Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 24, 8pm

How They Qualified

Qatar came through three different group stages and 18 games to qualify for the World Cup. In the final qualifying stage, they were held to a goalless draw by Oman before a 2-1 win over United Arab Emirates secured their place in the tournament.

The Manager

Julen Lopetegui was a high-profile managerial appointment for Qatar in 2025. He brings a wealth of experience both at international and club level. His Spain tenure between 2016 and 2018 was cut short days before the 2018 World Cup began after it was announced that he would join Real Madrid.

The Star

Almoez Ali is Qatar’s top goalscorer of all time, with 60 goals in 126 caps. He’s part of the Qatar contingent that was born abroad but has spent the last 10 years playing in the country for Al-Duhail. He was part of the 2019 and 2023 Asian Cup winning teams, and was named as Best Player after finishing as top scorer in the 2019 tournament

The Familiar Face

Those unfamiliar with Asian football will struggle to recognise many Qatar players during the tournament, with just one European-based player in the squad (Homam Ahmed, Cultural Leonesa). Akram Afif is one of the stars of the continent though and was named the best player in Asia in 2019 and 2023. He has been a part of six Qatar Stars League-winning squads during his nine-season spell at Al Sadd.

Did you know?

Qatar was the smallest nation to ever host the World Cup, covering just 11,581 square kilometres. The next smallest host, Switzerland, is nearly four times that size.

The Prediction

Group Stage

Despite some promising performances at continental level, Qatar don’t have sufficient quality to match their Group B rivals. Expect them to finish bottom of the group.

Cover Photo: FIFA World Cup 2014 by Mariya Butd used under license by CC BY 2.0.