FIFA World Cup 2026: Can Asian champions Qatar reach the knockouts?

FIFA World Cup 2026: Can Asian champions Qatar reach the knockouts?Al Jazeera speaks to Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui ahead of the World Cup, with a shot at knockouts within their grasp.Akram Afif helped Qatar qualify for football's World Cup on merit for the first time [File: Molly Darlington/Reuters]Published On 3 Jun 2026Previous World Cup appearances: One Best performance: Group stage (2022) First appearance: 2022 (Qatar) Top goal scorer: Mohammed Muntari (1) Most appearances: Abdelkarim Hassan, Boualem Khoukhi, Akram Afif (3 each) Player to watch: Almoez Ali FIFA world ranking: 55Four years on from their FIFA World Cup debut on home soil, Qatar are gearing up for a new “dream”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3From Yildiz to Diomande: Top 10 rising stars to watch at the World Cuplist 2 of 3Who’s in, who’s out: Squads for all 48 FIFA World Cup 2026 nationslist 3 of 3Less time wastage, more red cards: New football rules at the World Cupend of listThe reigning – and back-to-back – Asian champions head to the June 11-July 19 football tournament in North America, having qualified outright for the first time in the Arab nation’s history.Making their way to the showpiece after three successful rounds of qualifiers, the Qataris find themselves in an interesting, and potentially inviting, Group B, facing Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina.The prospect of reaching the knockout stages for the first time appears a realistic target.The task for the team, according to manager Julen Lopetegui in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, is to take the pressure off – but not at the cost of “ambition”.Al Jazeera breaks down Qatar’s chances in North America:How do Qatar’s World Cup opponents rank?In Switzerland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar face two strong teams from Europe. Switzerland are making their 13th appearance at the finals, having reached the knockouts in each of their last three campaigns.The 19th-ranked Swiss, whose best finish has been the quarterfinals on three occasions, are frontrunners to finish as table toppers of Group B.At number 65 in the FIFA rankings, Bosnia and Herzegovina are placed lower than Qatar, but it would be foolish to write them off based on that alone. Returning to the World Cup for the first time in 12 years, Bosnia and Herzegovina pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the qualifiers when they knocked out four-time world champions Italy on penalties.Qatar can expect a tough challenge from both European teams, but the two-time Asian champions could take a point or three against Canada, the number 30 team in the world and the co-hosts of the tournament, alongside the United States and Mexico.Like Qatar, Canada were also winless in their 2022 World Cup campaign, as well as in 2018. Making their third appearance at the finals, the Canadians, too, have yet to reach the knockouts.Canada put on a mixed performance in their pre-World Cup friendlies, winning two and drawing two.No pressure, as Lopetegui urges Qatar to enjoy the momentTalking to Al Jazeera ahead of the tournament, Qatar’s Spanish coach Lopetegui said the team achieved a “big goal” by qualifying for the 48-team World Cup on merit.While the achievement is momentous for all of Qatar, it also holds special importance for Lopetegui, who is heading to his first World Cup as a coach.Lopetegui was denied the chance to lead Spain at the 2018 World Cup, despite an impressive qualification, due to his country’s fury at the announcement of his upcoming role at Real Madrid only days before Spain’s first match at the event.This year’s tournament, as a result, will finally hand the 59-year-old the chance he has long waited for.“We are preparing for this next big challenge, which is to try to be competitive in the next step of our dream,” Lopetegui told Al Jazeera.“The thing that we cannot feel is pressure. We have to enjoy because we won the right to be there [at the World Cup].“The way I understand it, you can enjoy better [by] being competitive. The word pressure – it’s not in our language.”Qatar’s Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui took charge a year ago [Ibraheem Al Omari/Reuters]Lopetegui, who took over in May 2025, admitted that while Qatar are weaker than their opponents, there is no shortage of ambition among his players.“Each moment that you have at the World Cup is top,” he added.“So in this case, you analyse each country, talking about each player and which competition they are playing… you’re playing against the best players in the world. Now, we have to be ready and prepare ourselves to be competitive.“For sure, we will be playing against teams better than us; we have to accept this. But, to accept that is not to [say] that we don’t have the ambition to be competitive or to win there. They’re different things.”Who are Qatar’s best players?If Qatar are to crush Canadian hopes in Vancouver, the Gulf country will have to rely on the goal-scoring prowess of striker Almoez Ali, Qatar’s all-time marksman with 60 goals, and star winger Akram Afif, the two-time Asian player of the year and the team’s main source of creativity.Having played every minute of Qatar’s last World Cup campaign, Afif shares the record for most appearances at the tournament (three) alongside defenders Boualem Khoukhi and Abdelkarim Hassan.Captain Hassan Al-Haydos, who came out of retirement in June 2025 at Lopetegui’s request, is another fan favourite and holds the record of being Qatar’s most-capped player with 188 appearances.A favourable group and back-to-back Asian Cup titles have raised expectations [Ibraheem Al Omari/Reuters]Qatar’s squad remains built around a domestically developed core shaped through the Aspire Academy system that underpinned their rise over the past decade.Many of the squad have progressed through the same development pathway, giving Qatar continuity and ⁠cohesion, though questions remain over whether a group drawn largely ⁠from the domestic league has the depth and experience required to compete consistently with elite opposition.Qatar’s World Cup 2026 scheduleAll times in local time June 13, 12pm PDT (19:00 GMT) – Qatar vs Switzerland – Santa Clara, California (US) June 18, 4pm PDT(23:00 GMT) – Canada vs Qatar – Vancouver (Canada) June 24, 12pm PDT (19:00 GMT) – Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Qatar – Inglewood, California (US) Qatar fans saw their side play at a World Cup for the first time when hosting the football tournament in 2022 [File: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]Al Jazeera’s predictionQatar have a chance, even if it is a slim one, of reaching the knockouts.Their best bet for collecting points is against Canada. Should Qatar beat Canada, they will have three points, which should be enough to qualify for the round of 32 as one of the eight best third-placed teams.If Qatar draw all three games – which is less likely than the above scenario – even that could see them through to the knockouts for the first time in history.Simply put, the game against Canada is a must-win for Qatar if they dream of a deep run.Qatar’s World Cup squadGoalkeepers: Salah Zakaria, Meshaal Barsham, Mahmud AbunadaDefenders: Boualem Khoukhi, Pedro Miguel, Sultan Al-Brake, Al-Hashmi Al-Hussain, Ayoub Al-Oui, Issa Laye, Lucas Mendes, Homam Al-AminMidfielders: Ahmed Fathi, Jassim Gaber, Assim Madibo, Abdulaziz Hatem, Karim Boudiaf, Mohamed Al-MannaiForwards: Almoez Ali, Akram Afif, Tahsin Mohammed Jamshid, Edmilson Junior, Ahmed Al-Ganehi, Ahmed Alaaeldin, Hassan Al-Haydos, Mohammed Muntari, Yusuf AbdurisagThe FIFA World Cup begins on June 11. You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated World Cup 2026 page with all the latest news, match build-up and live text commentary, and keep up to date with group standings, real-time match results and schedules.