Qatar football team began their preparation at the Aspire Academy on Thursday for their matches against Afghanistan and India, scheduled for June 6 and June 11, respectively.
These matches are part of the joint Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup.
Asian Champions Qatar has already progressed to the next round of the qualifiers with a perfect record of 12 points from four matches so far. India is in second place with four points, tied with Afghanistan but leading on goal difference. Kuwait is fourth with three points.
Spanish coach Marquez Lopez has named a squad with youngsters, with experienced stars like Akram Afif and Almoez Ali rested. The squad will travel to Saudi Arabia on June 5 to face Afghanistan at Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Ahsa. They will return to Doha on June 7 to continue training for the match against India on June 11.
The top two teams from each of the nine groups in the current stage of the joint qualifiers will advance to the third stage of the World Cup qualifiers. The 18 qualifying teams are guaranteed participation in the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.
In the third stage, these 18 teams will be divided into three groups of six, playing home and away matches. The top two teams in each group will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup.
Teams finishing third and fourth in each group will enter the fourth stage of the World Cup qualifiers, split into two groups. The group winners from this stage will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the runners-up will play a continental playoff for a spot in the global playoff.
Asia is allocated a total of eight and a half spots for the 2026 World Cup.
