Qatar on verge of advancing to third round of WC qualifiers

A win for Qatar against Kuwait today will secure the Asian Champions’ ticket to the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers and also book their spot in the AFC Asian Cup 2027, which will be hosted by Saudi Arabia.
Qatar are on top of the Group A with a perfect record of three wins from three so far. Akram Afif was Qatar’s star in their 3-0 win over Kuwait at home last Thursday and the two-time AFC Asian Cup champions will be hoping for more of the same in the reverse fixture at the Sabah Al Salem Stadium in Kuwait City. The first two finishers in each of the nine groups advance to the next stage of determining which nations will take Asia’s eight guaranteed berths at the 48-team World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
Head coach Marquez Lopez, who has yet to taste a competitive defeat since taking charge of Qatar in December, admitted he had been impressed by his team’s second half performance against Kuwait on Thursday. “Kuwait played with a good defensive strategy but we showed our best in the second half and converted our chances. However, Tuesday’s match will be difficult as Kuwait will try to make up for this loss,” Lopez had said after Thursday’s tie.
The Spaniard added: “We are trying to introduce a new policy in the national team as part of our strategy towards forming a strong team that includes young talent and experienced players as we are facing a major challenge in the qualifiers.”
Meanwhile, Qatar’s midfielder Mohamed Waad said the team will have to work hard against the home side to earn a win.
“It is certainly not an easy match and we are expecting a tough challenge from Kuwait who will play in front of their home fans,” he said. “But we are determined to maintain our winning form and return with full points,” Waad added.
Thursday’s defeat left Kuwait on three points, one behind India, but head coach Rui Bento said his side still had a chance to secure progression. “We still have three matches and we still have chances to qualify,” said Costa.
In another Group A match, India, meanwhile, will hope for a better outcome when they host Afghanistan in Guwahati today. India, despite dominating, settled for a goalless draw with Afghanistan on Thursday with head coach Igor Stimac admitting he was disappointed with the result.
“We should have won with the chances we created, we tried different combinations and players but it just did not work. This is a problem that has been following us for years,” said Stimac.
It won’t be easy against an Afghanistan side who desperately need to win to keep their hopes alive.