Head coach Carlos Queiroz has named a 26-man Qatar squad to face Afghanistan and India for this month’s FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers.
The Asian champions will play Afghanistan at the Khalifa International Stadium on November 16, and then take on India in an away game at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on November 21 in the first two of their Group A games. The group also includes Kuwait. The preparatory training of Al Annabi began yesterday at Aspire.
Veteran Portuguese coach Queiroz has ringed in several changes to the squad that finished runners-up at the Jordan International Quad Championship in Amman last month. Al Rayyan teenager Ahmed al-Rawi has found a place in the squad, while Lucas Mendes is named once again, after being left out of the final squad last time, reportedly due to registration issues. Pedro Miguel is also included, despite being out of action for his club Al Sadd due to injury.
After Qatar’s first two matches, they qualification campaign will resume after the AFC Asian Cup which will be held at home from January 12 to February 10, 2024. Queiroz’s side will meet Kuwait on March 21, 2024, before they play their GCC opponents again in the return leg on March 26. Qatar’s second match against Afghanistan is set for June 6, before the game against India five days later.
A total of 36 teams divided into nine groups will be seen in action in the second round. All nine group winners and the respective runners-up will advance to the third round of World Cup qualifying, and at the same time seal their places at the 2027 Asian Cup.
The draw for the third round of the global showpiece in 2026 will be conducted in 2024, where the 18 teams will be divided into three groups of six; the top two from each group will qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Meanwhile, tickets for Qatar’s match against Afghanistan will be on sale at QFA’s website from today. Ticket prices are set at QR10, QR30, and QR50. Fans with special needs will be able to request their tickets via a dedicated e-mail address: accessibilityqfa.qa
Qatar Squad: Goalkeepers: Fahad Younes (Al Rayyan), Meshaal Barsham (Al Sadd), Salah Zakaria (Al Duhail), Yousef Hassan (Al Gharafa)
Defenders: Bassam al-Rawi (Al Rayyan), Boualem Khoukhi, Tariq Salman, Pedro Miguel (Al Sadd), Homam al-Amin (Al Gharafa), Yousef Ayman (Al Duhail), Hazem Ahmed, Lucas Mendez (Al Wakrah)
Midfielders: Abdullah al-Marafi, Ahmed Fathi, Jassem Jaber (Al Arabi), Karim Boudiaf (Al Duhail), Hassan al-Haydos, Mustafa Meshaal, Mohamed Waad (Al Sadd)
Forwards: Akram Afif, Yousef Abdulrazaq (Al Sadd), Ahmed Alaaeldin (Al Gharafa), Almoez Ali, Mohamed Muntari (Al Duhail), Ahmed al-Rawi, Tamim Mansour (Al Rayyan)
Afghanistan players boycott World Cup qualifier
Meanwhile, players from the Afghanistan team are boycotting their World Cup qualifying match against Qatar over their treatment by the football federation. A substantial number, 18 players, have reportedly refused to play in the match, due to take place in Qatar on November 16.
Three footballers who play overseas sent a letter last month to the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA detailing complaints and allegations of serious corruption by the Afghanistan Football Federation, The Guardian has reported.
“The last straw came at the last camp when a big group of us decided that we’d had enough – 18 players got together and said: ‘If we’re going to move forward, we have to put a stop to this,’” Noor Husin, who plays in the National League for Southend United, told The Guardian.
“We really want change. We want to help domestic players because the money they are getting from FIFA is not being used in the right way. We have the worst flights possible and we have to stay in substandard hotels. We’ve come together as a group because we want football in Afghanistan to move forward and we believe that it’s not going to move forward with the people that are in charge at the moment.”
The federation’s secretary Behram Siddiqui has denied the allegations. While players have argued that the AFF executive committee kept half of the bonus that should have gone to the squad for reaching the next stage of the World Cup qualifying among themselves, and that they have been holding on to money from plane tickets of players travelling to games.
A FIFA spokesperson said: “FIFA was informed of these allegations very recently and is currently looking into the matter.”