World Cup player profile: Qatar's Almoez Ali

Almoez Ali will be tasked with being the focal point of Qatar's attack at the World Cup. While his strike partner Akram Afif will at times drift wide and drop deep to pick up possession, Ali will likely remain high and central. The Sudanese-born striker is a very physical player and a clinical finisher. Despite not being prolific during club stints in Austria and Spain, he has an incredible international goal-scoring record, with 42 goals in 85 games for his country.

Ali has a lot of tournament experience, both at youth and senior level. He scored three times for Qatar in the 2014 U19 Asian Games, helping Qatar to the title. In 2016 he scored twice for the U23 team at the Asian Games, before returning in 2018 and scoring six goals and winning the Golden Boot. He went on to win the Golden Boot at the senior Asian Cup in 2019 with an incredible tally of nine goals in seven matches, as Qatar won their first major international trophy. That summer, he added a goal in the Copa America. Two years later, Qatar made a guest appearance at the 2021 Gold Cup and made a run all the way to the semi-finals. Ali again won the Golden Boot with four goals, as he and Afif were both named in the team of the tournament.

Qatar's hopes at the World Cup will be dependent upon being able to create goals, and Ali in particular is their biggest scoring threat. For them to make an extended run, it is more than likely going to take a few more goals from their star striker to do so.