Despite not being household names, Qatar hopes an experienced and disciplined side can carry the burden of expectations as the first World Cup host nation from the Middle East. Here's what you need to know about them before their opening match against Ecuador.
Preparing for the World Cup
Since they did not go through qualification as the host nation, Qatar has had less opportunities to test themselves in competitive environments. However, they participated as a guest nation at the 2019 Copa America and the 2021 Gold Cup. While they did not fare well at the Copa America, they put up solid performances in the Gold Cup and the 2019 Asian Cup. At the Asian Cup they defeated regional power Japan in the final to secure the nation's first ever continental trophy. In the Gold Cup Qatar reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by the eventual champion United States in a narrow defeat.
Qatar has focused on building familiarity amongst the squad. Most national team managers will get their players for a week or two at a time during normal years, and have maybe three or four weeks together before the World Cup. However, the Qatar national team has been training together for roughly six months. The majority of the squad was decided long ago, and those players were required to leave their clubs for large portions of the season in order to train together. Félix Sánchez has had his players training throughout Europe, holding camps in Austria and Spain. They have tested themselves against clubs from Belgium, Spain, Italy, Slovakia, and Northern Ireland, and got a few impressive results, including draws against Italian sides Fiorentina and Lazio, and a victory over Udinese.
Qatar has benefited from the 2004 opening of the Aspire Academy in Doha, which hones the skills of young Qatari boys from age 11. The academy is currently led by Australian World Cup legend Tim Cahill. Aspire has partnered with clubs in Europe such as KAS Eupen in Belgium and Cultural Leonesa in Spain. Players are frequently sent to train under European coaches against stronger opposition, then return to Qatar as better players. In 2014, the Qatar under-19s side won the U19 Asian Championship, using a squad made up solely of current or former Aspire Academy players. Many of these players, including current stars Almoez Ali and Akram Afif, went on to play for the senior team that won the Asian Cup in 2019. Qatar hopes that the familiarity of playing with the same players for many years will benefit the team at the World Cup.
Much of the squad will have been made up of players born outside of Qatar. The team will feature players from Sudan, Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Portugal, and France. Due to Qatar having relaxed naturalization laws for athletes, foreign-born players who have spent much of their careers in Qatar have been able to acquire Qatari citizenship and represent the Qatar national team.
Meet the Manager
Félix Sánchez will be the man in charge of Qatar at the World Cup. After a decade of coaching youth teams in the famed La Masia of Barcelona, Sánchez took over coaching teams at the Aspire Academy. In 2013 he was named as the Qatar under-19s manager, where he led them to become 2014 under-19 Asian champions. He was promoted to the senior team manager in 2017, and led Qatar to win the 2019 Asian Cup. He has gained plenty of tournament experience with these players when you factor in the Asian Cup, Gold Cup, and Copa America.
World Cup History
Qatar will be participating in their first ever World Cup in 2022. They will look to follow the trend of host nations progressing to the knockout stages. The only host nation to not advance from the group stages was South Africa in 2010.
Key Players
Almoez Ali - forward, 26 - Al-Duhail (Qatar) - 75 caps, 39 goals
Akram Afif - forward, 26 - Al-Sadd (Qatar) - 85 caps, 25 goals
Hassan Al-Haydos - midfielder/forward, 31 - Al-Sadd (Qatar) - 165 caps, 34 goals
Abdelkarim Hassan - left back/center back, 29 - Al-Sadd (Qatar) - 124 caps, 15 goals
Karim Boudiaf - midfielder, 32 - Al-Duhail (Qatar) - 111 caps, 5 goals
Abdelaziz Hatem - midfielder, 32 - Al-Rayyan (Qatar) - 98 caps, 11 goals
Boualem Khoukhi - midfielder/center back, 32 - Al-Sadd (Qatar) - 100 caps, 20 goals
Bassam Al-Rawi - center back, 24 - Al-Duhail (Qatar) - 53 caps, 2 goals
Tarek Salman - center back, 24 - Al-Sadd (Qatar) - 56 caps, 0 goals
Tactical Preview
Qatar defends in a low block in a back five. They are very direct with their counter attacks, often aiming for Almoez Ali up top, who looks to link up with his strike partner Akram Afif. Hassan Al-Haydos, Qatar's most capped player of all-time, will captain the side and look to connect the midfield with the forwards. Abdelkarim Hassan is the second most capped Qatari, and will be tasked with organizing the back line. He will likely be partnered with two of Tarek Salman, Bassam Al-Rawi, and Boualem Khoukhi, the latter of whom could play in midfield if needed. Abdulaziz Hatem and French-born Karim Boudiaf will likely be in the midfield asked to defend for large spells, but will need to get forward to support the strikers when they can.
Potential line-up (5-3-2):
GK: Saad Al Sheeb
RB: Pedro Miguel
CB: Bassam Al-Rawi
CB: Boualem Khoukhi
CB: Abdelkarim Hassan
LB: Homam Ahmed
CM: Karim Boudiaf
CM: Abdulaziz Hatem
AM: Hassan Al-Haydos
FW: Almoez Ali
FW: Akram Afif
World Cup Schedule
Ecuador - November 20, Al Rayyan
Senegal - November 25, Al Rayyan
Netherlands - November 29, Doha
