Qatar’s 2022 World Cup team
A 26-man World Cup roster comprised solely of domestic players, led by the attacking three of Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, and Hassan Al-Haydos, was chosen by Qatar coach Felix Sanchez on Friday.
On November 20, the tournament’s host will compete at the World Cup for the first time when they take on Ecuador. In Group A, Qatar will also compete against Senegal and the Netherlands.
Since June, Sanchez and his players have been living together in close quarters while attending training camps in Austria and Spain.
It is similar to the strategy South Korea used 20 years ago when the co-hosts made an unexpected run to the World Cup semifinals.
Sanchez, who spent ten years honing his craft with Barcelona’s junior squads, led Qatar to its first-ever major international championship with a 3-1 triumph over Japan in the 2019 Asian Cup final.
Sanchez recently stated in an interview with the Spanish sports daily Marca that it was “impossible to think that Qatar might win the Asian Cup in 2019.”
“Of course, I’m not talking about winning the World Cup, but our challenge is to perform well against these three opponents. After that, anything can happen in football.
Qatar Team
Saad Al Sheeb, Meshaal Barsham, and Yousuf Hassan are the goalkeepers.
Defenders: Tarek Salman, Bassam Al Rawi, Khoukhi Boualem, Pedro Miguel, Musaab Khidir, and Abdelkarim Hassan.
Midfielders: Mustafa Meshaal, Karim Boudiaf, Ali Asad, Mohammed Waad, Salem Al Hajri, Assim Madibo, and Ismaeel Mohammad.
Almeez Ali, Mohammed Muntari, Ahmed Alaa, Khalid Muneer, Naif Al Hadhrami, Hassan Al Haydos, Akram Afif, Abdulaziz Hatim, and others are the forwards.
Felix Sanchez, coach
