Experienced defender Pedro Miguel on Sunday said Qatar will aim to reach the second round when they arrive in the US for their opening match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Two-time Asian champions, Qatar will land in the United States after playing an international friendly against Ireland in Dublin on May 28.
Pedro, who plays for Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League (QSL), was a member of the Qatar side that won the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The 35-year-old was also in the Qatar squad that defended their Asian Cup title on home soil in Feb 2024.
“We learned a lot from our performance at the 2022 World Cup,” Pedro said yesterday while answering a question at the media day activities at the iconic Khalifa International Stadium.
“The last four years went very fast. I feel now we are ready for this World Cup,” Pedro said.
“We have more experience as a team. We have many players who can make a difference. This is very important. These players are coming with a lot of energy. We are looking forward to the World Cup. Our target is to reach the second round,” he added.
Qatar, coached by Julen Lopetegui, will face Switzerland on June 13 and Canada on June 19. The third match will be against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 24.
The 35-member Qatar squad includes Akram Afif, a two-time Asian Player of the Year, and long-serving forward Hasan al-Haydos. Qatar’s strike force also includes forward Al-Moez Ali. Goalkeeper Meshal Barsham is also key to Qatar’s possible shot at the second round.
At the FIFA World Cup on home soil in 2022, Qatar lost 2-0 to Ecuador followed by a 3-1 defeat against Senegal. In their last group stage match, the Netherlands beat Qatar 2-0.
“There was a lot of pressure in 2022. There was immense pressure to do well in front of our fans. We didn’t play the way our fans expected. But now we are playing another World Cup. We have another chance to show what we can do,” Pedro said before his team’s open training session on the pitch at the air conditioned Khalifa International Stadium.
“Now I feel there will be less pressure than the last one because we are playing away from home. We don’t play at home this time,” Pedro said as he smiled.
“Our first aim is to arrive in the best shape for the first game against Switzerland. We are working very hard. All the players are giving 100% in the training to be in the best shape in the first game,” Pedro said.
“To play in the World Cup - the best tournament in the world – is something we are looking forward to. All the players are very excited to start the tournament. It’s a difficult group. We play against strong national teams. They have good players. But I feel my teammates are ready for this tournament. We will show what we can do. It won’t be like the last World Cup.”
Qatar centre back Tarek Salman, 28, said on Sunday: “There’s an eagerness from our players to go out and give their best. This will be our second World Cup appearance. I can safely say our preparations are progressing really well following the end of the football season We are looking forward to playing positively against Ireland and El Salvador (on June 6 in Los Angeles). These two friendly games will give us the chance to fine-tune the technical aspects of our preparations. I say these two matches will be very important for us,” Salman said.
Salman echoed Pedro’s sentiments on Sunday, saying: “Most of the players have gained significant experience since our first World Cup appearance in 2022. The experience players have now is of great importance. I think this experience will have a major impact on our performance at the World Cup.”
Qatari left back Homam El-Amin said on Sunday: “Qatar has done really well since the 2022 World Cup. We played some tough qualifying matches. We acknowledge we have to face tough teams like Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia & Herzegovina. But we feel ready at this point in time.”
