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On November 20, the 22nd FIFA World Cup begins. The sports event, taking place almost until Christmas, will attract fans from all over the world to support their national teams.
The most visited national football portal, "Eurofootball.com," will provide insights into the national teams participating in the World Cup, aiming to get to know each team better.
This time we look at the host of the tournament - the Qatar national team.
Team's achievements and history
Football in Qatar started in 1940, and the national team played its first official match in 1970 against Bahrain, losing 1-2.
In 1975, Qatar participated in the qualifiers for the Asian Cup for the first time but finished third in the group and did not qualify for the tournament.
In 1980, Qatar reached the main stage of the Asian Cup for the first time in the country's history but was eliminated in the group stage.
In 2000, the Qatar national team reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup but lost to China.
In 2019, this team won its first and so far only Asian Cup trophy in the country's history.
In the same year, Qatar also competed in the South American championship. They finished last in the group, earning a single point against the Paraguay team.
The Qatar national team has never played in the FIFA World Cup, and they will participate as the hosts this time.
Predicted team composition
Goalkeepers: Saad Al Sheeb (Al-Sadd), Yousef Hassan (Al-Gharafa), Meshaal Barsham (Al-Sadd).
Defenders: Ró-Ró (Al-Sadd), Abdelkarim Hassan (Al-Sadd), Tarek Salman (Al-Sadd), Musab Kheder (Al-Sadd), Homam Ahmed (Al-Gharafa), Bassam Al-Rawi (Al-Duhail), Boualem Khoukhi (Al-Sadd).
Midfielders: Abdulaziz Hatem (Al-Rayyan), Mohammed Waad (Al-Sadd), Ali Assadalla (Al-Sadd), Karim Boudiaf (Al-Duhail), Abdullah Al-Ahrak (Al-Duhail), Assim Madibo (Al-Duhail), Akram Afif (Al-Sadd).
Forwards: Ahmed Alaaeldin (Al-Gharafa), Mohammed Muntari (Al-Duhail), Hassan Al-Haydos (Al-Sadd), Ismaeel Mohammed (Al-Duhail), Khalid Muneer (Al-Wakrah), Almoez Ali (Al-Duhail).
Team coach
The Qatar football team is coached by Spanish Felix Sanchez.
Catalan spent ten years (1996-2006) working at the Barcelona youth academy. Later, the strategist moved to Qatar, where he worked at the Aspire Academy until 2013.
From 2013 to 2017, F. Sanchez coached the Qatar U19 national team.
Since 2017, the Spaniard has been at the helm of the Qatar men's national team.
Felix Sanchez has led the Qatar national team in 83 matches. During that time, they achieved 43 wins, 16 draws, and 24 losses.
In 2019, this coach led Qatar to triumph in the Asian Football Confederation.
Group stage opponents
Qatar will play in Group A with the Netherlands, Senegal, and Ecuador.
Qatar has never played against the Netherlands or Senegal in their history. However, they played a friendly match against Ecuador in 2018, winning 4-3.
Conclusion
It is almost impossible for the Qatar national team to advance from the group stage. Despite playing at home, it is difficult to imagine them winning against Senegal or the Netherlands. Their only chance to earn points is against the South American team - Ecuador. Nevertheless, we hope the tournament hosts will put up a good fight, and finishing third in the group would be a great achievement for tournament debutants.
