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Josh Gross
Qatar World Cup Team Preview
Qatar
FIFA Ranking: 50
Manager: Felix Sanchez
Federation: Asian Football Conference (AFC)
Group: Qatar, Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador
Odds to win World Cup: +55000, FanDuel Sportsbook
Odds to win Group A: +1800, Caesars
Odds to advance in Group A: +550, PointsBet
How did Qatar qualify for the World Cup?
By winning (arguably bribing) the bid to host the 2022 World Cup. The host nation of the World Cup automatically qualifies to participate in it. That said, Qatar has had recent success in the AFC, even winning the 2019 Asian Cup.
Who is Qatar’s most important player?
Akram Afif
Akram Afif is a 25-year-old speedy winger who stands out as the most talented player on this Qatari side. While Almoez Ali has been the more consistent goalscorer (and arguably in better form), Afif is the star of this team with his world-class speed. If Qatar are going to go on a run as they did in the 2019 Asian Cup, they will need Akram to have a breakout tournament as he did in 2019, winning Asian Cup Player of the Year.
What are Qatar’s strengths, weaknesses, style of play and form?
There is a strong argument to be made that Qatar’s greatest strength is the fact that they are playing this World Cup at home. There has been only one host nation ever that has not advanced in the group stage.
This Qatari team lacks true international experience with all of their players on the team playing for local clubs. On the pitch, Qatar’s biggest weakness is their defense, which was evident in their World Cup friendlies as well as participating in Copa America and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. In Copa America, Qatar drew with Paraguay 2-2, lost to Colombia 1-0 and lost to Argentina 2-0. In the Gold Cup, Qatar lost to the US 1-0, beat El Salvador 3-2, beat Honduras 2-0, beat Grenada 4-0 and drew Panama 3-3.
Qatar plays a 3-5-2 that modifies to a 5-3-2. As a team that lacks any elite talent, Qatar relays on a counter attacking style of play as they are unlikely to hold the majority of possession in any of their World Cup games.
In 2022, Qatar have played 20 matches with a record of 9-3-8 with notable wins over Bulgaria and Ghana and notable losses to the Croatian under 23 side (3-0) and Canada (2-0). Qatar has an upcoming friendly against Albania.
What is Qatar’s World Cup Outlook?
In a group that includes Holland, Senegal and Ecuador, there is certainly an expectation that Qatar will become the second host nation ever to not advance to the knockout stage. While Senegal and Ecuador are not household names, both teams have elite talent that play in the strongest leagues across the world. That’s not to say this Qatari side doesn’t have talent, but they will really need to rely on their home field advantage for them to advance out of a pretty strong group.
Best Qatar World Cup Bet
TBD
Qatar’s World Cup Roster
Goalkeepers: Saad Al Sheeb, Meshaal Barsham, Yousuf Hassan
Defenders: Pedro Miguel, Musaab Khidir, Tarek Salman, Bassam Al Rawi, Khoukhi Boualem, Abdelkarim Hassan, Ismael Mohammed, Homam Al Amin
Midfielders: Jassim Jabir, Ali Asad, Mohammed Waad, Salem Al Hajri, Assim Modibo, Mustafa Meshaal, Karim Boudiaf, Abdulaziz Hatim, Naif Alhadhrami
Forwards: Hassan Al-Haydos, Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Mohammed Muntari, Ahmed Alaa, Khalid Muneer
Group A | Ecuador Senegal Netherlands Qatar
Group B | Iran Wales USA England
Group C | Mexico Saudi Arabia Poland Argentina
Group D | Tunisia Denmark Australia France
Group E | Japan Germany Costa Rica Spain
Group F | Croatia Morocco Canada Belgium
