Qatar has more political and social ambitions than sports with this World Cup organized on its soil. An allocation decided at the end of 2010, which sparked controversy – and has not yet finished doing so. It’s not easy to see this nation coming out of a group of which it seems the least armed (Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador). But the main thing is elsewhere.
The story
In an attempt to do well in its World Cup, this nation which is not a football country has naturalized several foreign players, including Cape Verdean Ró-Ró, Algerian Boualem Khoukhi or Sudanese Almoez Ali.
Qatar team form
The host country will launch its competition on November 20 in the opening against Ecuador. The team of Spaniard Félix Sánchez will try to play the spoilsport in this group A raised for them. Exempted from qualifications as organizers, the Qataris had been placed in a European group to hone their skills. Balance sheet: 2 victories against the modest Luxembourg and Azerbaijan, 3 draws and 5 defeats against more upscale nations such as Portugal and Serbia. Second highest ranked nation in the Middle East behind Iran, Qatar still seems too fair to do well in this competition. But pushed by its public and Asian champion in 2019, can Qatar create the feat and get out of its pool?
The list of 26
Coach Félix Sanchez has selected a list without too many surprises, made up only of players playing in the country. However, not all of them were born with Qatari nationality, since players like Karim Boudiaf or Boualem Khoukhi have been naturalized.
- Goalkeepers: Saad Al-Sheeb (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Meshaal Barsham (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Yousef Hassan (Al-Gharafa SC/QAT)
- Defenders: Pedro Miguel (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Musab Khoder (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Tarek Salman (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Bassam Al-Rawi (Al-Duhail SC/QAT), Boualem Khoukhi (Al -Sadd SC/QAT), Abdelkarim Hassan (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Ismaeel Mohammad (Al-Duhail SC/QAT), Homam Ahmed (Al-Gharafa SC/QAT)
- Midfielders: Jassem Gaber (Al-Arabi SC/QAT), Ali Asad (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Assim Madibo (Al-Duhail SC/QAT), Mohammed Waad (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Salem Al-Hajri (Al -Sadd SC/QAT), Mostafa Tarek Mashaal (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Karim Boudiaf (Al-Duhail SC/QAT), Abdulaziz Hatem (Al-Rayyan SC/QAT)
- Forwards: Naif Al-Hadhrami (Al-Rayyan SC/QAT), Ahmed Alaaeldin (Al-Gharafa SC/QAT), Hassan Al-Haydos (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Akram Afif (Al-Sadd SC/QAT), Almoez Ali (Al-Duhail SC/QAT), Mohammed Muntari (Al-Duhail SC/QAT), Khalid Muneer Mazeed (Al-Wakrah SC/QAT)
Player to watch: Abdelkarim Hassan
Left-back holder, third most capped player in the history of the Qatar team (120 caps), Hassan is a basic man for Sánchez. At 29, he plays in the local championship, with Al-Sadd, after a brief stint in Belgium (Eupen). Fast, technical and an excellent dribbler, he also has a formidable shot, like his cannon shot against Yemen in the 2019 Gulf Cup.
The likely composition
Qatar should play in 3-5-2 during the World Cup, with a solid Khoukhi-Boudiaf-Afif spinal cord.
