Felix Sanchez has managed to put together a solid side out of nowhere and he led them to Asian Cup success, with his team playing good football. Qatar are the best Asian team, with very talented players such as Afif and defender Pedro Miguel, but they lack experience in major tournaments, struggling against experienced sides. Qatar will play on home soil, which could be either in their favour or against them, depending on their players’ mentality. That said, they are not considered formidable opponents.
Host status secured Qatar’s route to the FIFA 2022 World Cup, as they break new ground in the competition with their first appearance on the main stage.
Despite the controversy over FIFA’s decision to select Qatar as the competition hosts, the Middle East now awaits its first World Cup, with Qatar under pressure to perform.
A lack of World Cup pedigree is a major factor against Felix Sanchez’s side, but hosts have risen to the challenge before in unlikely circumstances.
Group A pits them against Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands, and Sanchez will surely not be dismissing the chance of an upset.
Final Qatar World Cup squad 2022
Sanchez had until Friday, October 21 to submit an official preliminary list of 35-55 players to FIFA, and from there he selected his final 26-man roster announced on Nov. 11, a few days ahead of the FIFA deadline.
The final squad is entirely made up of players from the domestic Qatar Stars League and with exactly half of the players hailing from defending champions Al Sadd.
Qatar open the 2022 World Cup against Ecuador on Sunday, November 20 in the inaugural match.
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
| Goalkeeper | Saad Al-Sheeb | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 80 |
| Goalkeeper | Meshaal Barsham | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 24 | 15 |
| Goalkeeper | Yousuf Hassan | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 26 | 9 |
| Defender | Pedro Miguel | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 78 |
| Defender | Musaab Khidir | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 29 |
| Defender | Tarek Salman | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 24 | 54 |
| Defender | Bassam Al Rawi | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 24 | 51 |
| Defender | Boualem Khoukhi | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 99 |
| Defender | Abdelkarim Hassan | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 120 |
| Defender | Ismaeel Mohammad | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 32 | 66 |
| Defender | Homam Ahmed Al Amin | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 23 | 27 |
| Defender | Jassim Jabir | Al-Arabi (QAT) | 20 | 0 |
| Midfielder | Ali Asad | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 56 |
| Midfielder | Assim Madibo | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 26 | 43 |
| Midfielder | Mohammed Waad | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 23 | 20 |
| Midfielder | Salem Al-Hajri | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 26 | 23 |
| Midfielder | Mustafa Meshaal Tarek | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 21 | 1 |
| Midfielder | Karim Boudiaf | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 32 | 108 |
| Midfielder | Abdulaziz Hatim | Al-Rayyan (QAT) | 32 | 96 |
| Forward | Naif Al-Hadhrami | Al-Rayyan (QAT) | 21 | 1 |
| Forward | Ahmed Alaaeldin | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 29 | 45 |
| Forward | Hassan Al-Haydos | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 31 | 160 |
| Forward | Akram Afif | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 25 | 83 |
| Forward | Almoez Ali | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 26 | 82 |
| Forward | Mohammed Muntari | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 28 | 41 |
| Forward | Khalid Muneer | Al-Wakrah (QAT) | 24 | 3 |
Qatar best player, national team strengths & weaknesses
After receiving an automatic spot at the World Cup, Qatar were placed in UEFA qualifying Group A (as a non-competitor) to enable Sanchez’s side to get a taste of top-level action before the tournament.
Two wins from 10 games showed their struggles against European sides, but they managed to reach the semifinals of North America’s 2021 Gold Cup and the Arab Cup.
Stars
Sanchez will continue to rely on a solely home-based Qatari squad for the World Cup, with four of his players already reaching 100 or more international caps.
The unquestioned star is the electric Akram Afif at forward. Veteran Hassan Al Haydos is the team’s skillful playmaker who will be the key link as the team aims to catch opponents by surprise on the counter.
Strengths
The counterattack is Qatar’s main weapon and Akram Afif is the critical component of that transition game. His speed and one-vs-one skills can be enough to cause chaos in the opponent’s half and fellow forward Almoez Ali will be the beneficiary of any service if Afif can’t do it all himself.
Weaknesses
Outside of the international competition that Qatar has sought through friendlies and other tournaments, their players are untested outside of their own national league and that could be exposed from the start.
Qatar World Cup group
Anything other than a group-stage exit would represent a major success for Qatar on their World Cup debut. However, the challenge of defending African champions Senegal, and a resurgent Netherlands, is likely to be too much for them. There is, though, a possibility of a positive opening against Ecuador.
Qatar Group A fixtures and match Schedule
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | Stadium |
| Sun, Nov. 20 | Qatar vs. Ecuador | 11 a.m. | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Fri, Nov. 25 | Qatar vs. Senegal | 8 a.m. | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Tues, Nov. 29 | Netherlands vs. Qatar | 10 a.m. | Al Bayt Stadium |
COACH
FELIX SANCHEZ
He managed to lead Qatar to AFC Asian Cup glory out of nowhere. His Qatar side are playing reasonably well, with his Spanish philosophy and the Barcelona style of play he intends to infuse into the team.
THE STAR
AKRAM AFIF
He is undoubtedly the finest Qatari player. Afif has an incredible skillset and he usually cuts inside from the left. However, he is an anarchic player, one who used to drive his former coach Xavi Hernandez crazy at Al Sadd.
LINE-UP (1-3-4-3)
THE BEST
They will dispute the World Cup on home soil and have played together for a long time under Sanchez.
THE WORST
They seriously lack experience in major tournaments.
By Fernando Pérez
(Football Analyst, Spain)
Bengali