This really should not be Julen Lopetegui’s first World Cup.Back in 2018, Lopetegui was sacked as Spain manager just two days before their opening match — after Real Madrid announced they were appointing him for the following season.Eight years on, he is finally about to take part in the tournament as manager of Qatar — who face Switzerland in their Group B opener at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Saturday.“I’m not thinking about 2018, I’m thinking about 2026,” Lopetegui says.“Since 2018 a lot of things have happened in my life, many very nice things in football. I came to Qatar to qualify them for the World Cup, something historic. It was very difficult, but that motivated us, a huge test for me and my staff.“Our next objective is to be as competitive as possible.”Lopetegui and Qatar secured their World Cup qualification in October (Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)Lopetegui took charge of Spain in 2016, taking over from Vicente del Bosque following the team’s last-16 defeat by Italy at that year’s European Championship.He revitalised an ageing side and Spain became many pundits’ pre-tournament favourites for Russia 2018, arriving on a 20-game unbeaten run.Lopetegui does not want to get into the circumstances of his dramatic sacking by Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales. But there is a certain wistfulness as the 59-year-old recalls the situation.“We had two spectacular years with Spain, playing all the best teams in the world, beating nearly all of them and not losing even one game,” he says. “We won almost all our qualifiers, we were arriving really, really well at the tournament…”Under temporary coach Fernando Hierro, Spain ended up losing on penalties to Russia in the last 16. Luis Enrique then led the nation to the Euro 2020 semi-finals, losing on penalties again to Italy, but World Cup 2022 brought another humbling last-16 defeat by Morocco — settled once more by a shootout.At Euro 2024, a new cycle brought spectacular success as Luis de la Fuente’s side, with Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams on the wings, beat England in the final.“Today’s Spain is a different team, but the style is not so different,” Lopetegui says. “That is set by the type of player that Spain produces.“Luis has done a spectacular job. Spain are among the favourites this summer, but there are five or six possible winners. It will depend on small details, the bounce of the ball.”Lopetegui’s spell as Real Madrid coach famously lasted just 14 matches before club president Florentino Perez sacked him after a 5-1 Clasico defeat at Barcelona on October 28, 2018.During the 2025-26 campaign, Xabi Alonso lasted slightly longer on the Bernabeu bench. He was fired in January, while his replacement Alvaro Arbeloa has now made way for Jose Mourinho’s return as coach. Asked if he could sympathise with Alonso, Lopetegui’s answer is short, but direct.“I’ve great affection and sympathy for Xabi,” he says. “Of course I wished him the best at Real Madrid.”As for why it seems so difficult to manage at the Bernabeu, Lopetegui again opts for brevity.“Because it’s Real Madrid,” he says, with a wry smile.Qatar’s first ever World Cup was four years ago, when they hosted the tournament and lost all three group games to Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands.Their chances of making a second finals looked in trouble when Lopetegui was hired in May 2025, following heavy defeats by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran and Kyrgyzstan during the third stage of Asian qualifying.Lopetegui’s first game brought a gritty 1-0 victory over eventual group winners Iran, securing qualification for the subsequent three-team play-off round. A 0-0 draw with Oman and 2-1 victory over the UAE secured them one of the region’s eight direct spots for this summer’s tournament.“Iran are the Brazil of this area of the world, very strong,” Lopetegui says. “But we beat them to make the play-off. Oman had beaten us 2-1 in the Gulf Cup, before I arrived. And UAE had beaten Qatar 5-0 in the groups, they’ve a much stronger team with naturalised Brazilians, Portuguese, Croats, Italians.“We drew with Oman and the key game against the UAE was tough, agonising. We were down to 10 men, but we did it.”Qatar’s goalscorers in that October 14 victory over the UAE were defenders Boualem Khouki and Pedro Miguel, with both assists provided by Akram Afif, arguably the greatest player in Qatari football history.All three were part of a Qatar side that won the 2019 and 2022 Asian Cup trophies — and they will be at the World Cup this summer.Qatar’s Akram Afif during the key victory over Iran in World Cup qualification (Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP) (Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)Lopetegui says that generation is now reaching the veteran stage, and he is trying to introduce younger players to the national team. However, the pool of available talent is very limited. Qatar’s population is about 3million, but expatriate workers count for around 90 per cent.“In our October qualifiers we had some players who had played just three top-flight games in their careers,” he says. “We’re trying to make the best of what we have, and work closely with the youngsters coming through to improve them. We want a team that can carry the country’s flag with dignity and pride.”Lopetegui’s preparations for this summer’s tournament were disrupted in March, when friendlies against Serbia and Argentina were cancelled due to safety fears in Qatar over the military conflict between the United States and Israel and Iran.“March was a very tough month,” Lopetegui says. “The Qatar league was stopped for three weeks, and the players could not even train — a big setback. We’d have liked more games to prepare (for the World Cup), but we will win nothing by complaining.”Another home friendly against Sudan was cancelled in May, but Qatar have played two World Cup warm-up matches since: a narrow 1-0 defeat by Ireland in Dublin on May 28 and a 0-0 draw with El Salvador in Los Angeles on June 6.Lopetegui admits his side will be big outsiders in each of their three Group B fixtures. After Switzerland they play co-hosts Canada on June 19 (June 18 local time) and Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 24.“Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia are better than us, no doubt about that,” he says. “We know they’re happy to have us in their group. We must accept our reality, that we will have to defend for long spells in all our games, and from there grow as a team, be competitive.”After leaving Madrid back in October 2018, Lopetegui’s next stop was Sevilla, where he won the 2020 Europa League and achieved three successive top-four finishes in La Liga. In November 2022 he came in to help Wolves avoid Premier League relegation, but left abruptly the following August. He joined West Ham for the 2024-25 season, but was sacked with the team 14th in the table that January, seven points above the relegation zone.Although under contract with Qatar until 2027, Lopetegui does not rule out a future return to European club football.“I’m a coach, and I like big challenges,” he says. “I went to Wolves for the challenge there, being bottom of the table on Boxing Day, and achieving numbers for Europa League qualification. But then our paths diverged, there were disagreements over the team’s direction. We did very good work at West Ham, I believe, given the reality of the team.“I still have very warm memories of Wolves, and had fantastic times there. I also fondly remember everyone at West Ham; their fans are among the best in England. I hope both clubs can return quickly to the Premier League, where they belong.“We’re always looking for challenges, good, ambitious opportunities, maybe England, Spain, or elsewhere, we will see.”