Qatar is the host of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Therefore, they are naturally qualified for the mega event and didn’t need to take part in the gruelling qualifier rounds.
The amazing part is that this is the first time the tiny gulf nation is participating in the greatest show on earth. Qatar is a small country with an area of 11,571 square kilometres. They have less than 3 million people and most of them are immigrants also.
They have huge natural resources like gas and oil and the country earns a monstrous amount from exporting their resources. The authority intends to arrange a memorable world cup. Here, we’ll take a look at the Qatar National team.
History:
Qatar officially started their path to competitive football in 1970. They played their 1st ever game against their arch-rival Bahrain and lost the game 2-1. They reached their peak as a football-playing nation in the late 90s when they entered the final stages of the world cup qualifying round, however, failed to attain both times in 1990 and 1998. In 1980, they took part in the Asia Cup Football for the first time.
Till now, they make 10 appearances in the continental tournament and their pursuit of winning the trophy saw daylight in 2019 when they won it for the first and only time. They competed in Arab Cup 3 times and their best outcome in that event is being Runners-up in 1998.
The Qatar team is also known as ‘the Maroon’. Their Captain Hasan Al-Haydos is their most capped player with 162 appearances. Mansoor Muftah is the nation’s highest-ever goalscorer with 42 goals.
Qatar is a wealthy nation with a small population which is why there are many foreign footballers in its team. After getting the responsibility of arranging the world cup, they become serious about the development of this site. They appointed Spanish coach Sanchez in 2017 and he is trying to improve things.
Team Insights:
Coach: Felix Sanchez.
Captain: Hasan Al-Haydos
Players:
Goalkeeper: Shaad Al Sheeb, Meshaal Barsham, Yousef Hasan.
Defenders: Abdelkarim Hasan, Boualem Khouki, Bassam Hisham, Tarek Salman, Pedro Miguel, Homam Ahmed, Musab Al Khader.
Midfielders: Abdulaziz Hatem, Karim Boudiaf, Aasim Madibo, Abdullah Abdullah, Selim Al Hajri, Ali Asadullah, Ahmed Fadel, Mohammed.
Attackers: Almoez Ali, Akram Afif, Hasan Al Haydos, Mohammed Muntari, Khaleed Munir, Ahmed Ala Eldin, Ismael Mohammed, Abdulrahman, Hazem Shehata.
Current FIFA ranking: 48
Best FIFA ranking: 42
Lowest FIFA ranking: 113
Other Group A opponents:
- Ecuador
- Senegal
- Netherlands
It’s a tough group for the hosting nation as Senegal and Netherlands are the two favourite teams to go to the next round nevertheless the Maroons have the home crowd by their side and they’ll try to write history by reaching as far as they can.
