RIYADH: Four years after suffering the ignominy of becoming the first host nation to lose all three group-stage matches at the FIFA World Cup finals, Qatar return to football’s biggest stage in search of redemption.
The Maroons once again line up as continental champions, having retained the AFC Asian Cup in early 2024. Yet despite that success, the expectations surrounding Julen Lopetegui’s side remain muted.
Drawn in the group stage alongside Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina and co-hosts Canada, Qatar start the tournament with one objective: to prove they belong at the World Cup finals.
Few people expected Qatar to upset the apple cart when they hosted the competition in 2022, but after winning their maiden AFC Asian Cup title in 2019, defeating South Korea, Japan and hosts the UAE along the way, expectations rose significantly.
Qatar certainly looked a bright side, with the dominant duo of Akram Afif and Almoez Ali leading the charge alongside a supporting cast that included Hassan Al-Haydos, Abdelkarim Hassan, Abdulaziz Hatem and Bassam Al-Rawi.
