Julen Lopetegui, manager of the Qatar national football team
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Qatar World Cup 2026 squad is the first to have ever qualified for the World Cup, following their hosting of the 2022 tournament.
Qatar will hoping for a much better showing at World Cup 2026, however: they crashed out in the group stage on home soil last time around, after scoring just once in three games.
It leaves them as statistically the worst-ever hosts of the competition – but with an expanded tournament this time around, it may be a more level playing field this time, despite having one of the lesser-known squads in the tournament.
Qatar beat the United Arab Emirates and drew with Oman to officially qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the fourth round of Asian qualifying.
They were one of two designated ‘hosts’ for the three team groups, meaning both games were played in front of a home crowd.
In December they will take part in the Arab Cup, a competition which they have not won, but each time they have participated they have reached the semi-finals or better.
They are the hosts for the third time, and the second time consecutively.
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SquadQatar World Cup 2026 squad: The latest selection for the 2025 Arab CupGK: Shehab Ellethy (Al-Shahaniya)GK: Mahmud Abunada (Al-Arabi)GK: Meshaal Barsham (Al-Sadd)DF: Issa Laye (Al-Arabi)DF: Lucas Mendes (Al-Wakrah)DF: Tarek Salman (Al-Sadd)DF: Ayoub Al-Oui (Al-Gharafa)DF: Homam Ahmed (Al-Duhail)DF: Yousef Aymen (Al-Duhail)DF: Al-Hashmi Al-Hussain (Al-Arabi)DF: Sultan Al-Brake (Al-Duhail)MF: Mohammed Waad (Al-Sadd)MF: Abdulaziz Hatem (Al-Rayyan)MF: Jassem Gaber (Al-Rayyan)MF: Khalid Ali Sabah (Al-Sailiya)MF: Mohamed Al-Mannai (Al-Shamal)MF: Ahmed Fathy (Al-Arabi)MF: Assim Madibo (Al-Wakrah)FW: Ahmed Alaaeldin (Al-Rayyan)FW: Mohammed Muntari (Al-Gharafa)FW: Akram Afif (Al-Sadd)FW: Edmilson Junior (Al-Duhail)FW: Mohamed Khaled Gouda (Al-Arabi)Fixtures and resultsArab Cup 2025 – December 7: Qatar vs Tunisia, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar
Arab Cup 2025 – December 4: Syria vs Qatar, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar
Arab Cup 2025 – December 1: Qatar 0-1 Palestine, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar
November 17: Qatar 1–2 Zimbabwe, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar
October 14: Qatar 2–1 United Arab Emirates, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar
October 8: Oman 0–0 Qatar, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar
October 10: Qatar 1–4 Russia, Al Rayyan, Qatar
September 7: Qatar 1–4 Russia, Al Rayyan, Qatar
September 3: Qatar 2–2 Bahrain, Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar
August 24: Qatar 0–1 Lebanon, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar
June 10: Uzbekistan 3–0 Qatar, Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
June 5: Qatar 1–0 Iran, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar
March 25: Kyrgyzstan 3–1 Qatar, Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
March 20: Qatar 5–1 North Korea, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar
ManagerWho is Qatar’s manager?
Julen Lopetegui, Head Coach of Sevilla celebrates with the UEFA Europa League (Image credit: Ina Fassbender/Pool via Getty Images)Qatar’s last six managers have all been from the Iberian Peninsula, with their last three being Spanish. Julen Lopetegui who is the current manager, is the most high profile to have had the role.
His previous experience includes Real Madrid, where he lasted less than half a season before being sacked. He enjoyed a better spell at Sevilla, where he won the Europa League.
Lopetegui will be familiar to English football fans, having had two stints in the Premier League in the past few years. He was in charge of Wolves before leaving on the eve of the new season in 2023, before taking charge of West Ham, again only for just over half a season before being sacked.
Star playerWho is Qatar’s star player?
Almoez Ali (Image credit: Getty)Almoez Ali has represented Qatar at several major tournaments. He was part of the Qatari team that participated in the 2019 Copa America, scoring against Paraguay.
He also participated in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he scored four times and won the top scorer award, as Qatar finished third.
He was also in the squad for the 2022 World Cup featuring in every game. He’ll be hoping to break his duck in 2026 and become just the second ever Qatari player to score in the tournament.
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Ewan is a freelance writer and social media manager who has worked for The Athletic, GOAL, 90min and OneFootball. From Gelsenkirchen to Riyadh, he has covered some of the biggest games in football in his three years in the industry.
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