World Cup preview: Qatar
The tournament's hosts are appearing in the World Cup for the first time
Previous World Cup appearances: None
Best finish: N/A
Group stage schedule: vs. Ecuador (Nov. 20), vs. Senegal (Nov. 25), vs. the Netherlands (Nov. 29)
Note: All stats accurate as of the end of the 2021-22 European season.
The breakdown
How they qualified: Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup on Dec. 2, 2010, the same day the 2018 World Cup was given to Russia1. The host nation automatically qualifies for every World Cup.
Names to know:
Akram Afif (Al Sadd) — Afif became a household name with a tournament-record 10 assists at the Asian Cup in 20192. He was directly involved in 1.10 goals per 90 minutes at the 2021 Gold Cup and led the Qatar Stars League (QSL) with 31 goal contributions (14 goals, 17 assists)3. Afif was named the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) player of the year and spent time in the Sevilla and Villarreal academies4.
Hassan Al-Haydos (Al Sadd) — A regular starter throughout Qatar’s World Cup preparation, Al-Haydos scored in three of the team’s four tune-up events (Asian Cup, Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying). He recorded seven goals and five assists for Al Saad in 2021-225.
Almoez Ali (Al-Duhail) — Ali scored a team-high six goals in Qatar’s eight games as a guest nation during AFC World Cup qualifying. He found the back of the net nine times at the Asian Cup, once at the 2019 Copa América and four times at the Gold Cup. The 25-year-old had seven goals and seven assists in 17 appearances in the Qatar Stars League last season.6
Abdulaziz Hatem (Al Rayyan) — Hatem started all but three games in the three tournaments and the round of World Cup qualifiers. He contributed a goal and three assists in the QSL last season and scored in their win over Japan in the Asian Cup final7.
Boualem Khoukhi (Al Sadd) — Khoukhi started every game for Qatar at all three tournaments they’ve participated in since the last World Cup as well as all eight AFC qualification matches. He netted four goals for his club as they cruised to the league title8.
Potential breakout star: Yusuf Abdurisag (Al Sadd)
Abdurisag was included in Qatar’s Gold Cup squad but did not make an appearance in the tournament. He started six of the World Cup qualifiers, scoring once and assisting on two more goals. The 22-year-old has four goals in his 58 appearances in the QSL, 30 of which were starts9.
Note: Abdurisag was not included in Qatar’s World Cup squad.
The bottom line
Reason for optimism: Host nations always perform well
Since the tournament moved to its current format in 1986, every host nation except one has advanced past the group stage. The only team that failed to do so was South Africa in 2010, who were kept out of the knockout stage by an inferior goal difference. Seven of those host nations reached the quarterfinals and four made the semis.
Biggest question: Can they hang with the world’s best?
Qatar beat Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Japan on their way to winning the Asian Cup in 2019. They’ve lost eight of their nine games against World Cup opponents since then with the other result being a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica in a November 2020 friendly. It’s also worth noting six of the eight defeats were by multiple goals.
Here’s the deal:
Qatar are ranked 49th in the world for a reason. Their performances at recent tournaments were impressive and the home-field advantage is real. They will prove they belong on the sport’s biggest stage but expecting anything more than that is unfair.