Qatar. The pre-tournament read.

Qatar arrive at the 2026 World Cup as the reigning two-time AFC Asian Cup champions and as the country whose 2022 host-nation performance is, structurally, the moment they have spent the entire 2026 cycle trying to escape. Márquez's project is the AFC Asian Cup 2023 squad lightly retuned — Afif as the focal point, Almoez Ali leading the line, the senior spine of Al-Haydos and Sa'ad Al-Sheeb still present. Group B is winnable in places: Canada is the seeded host, Switzerland the experienced European piece, Bosnia the playoff-winners with Džeko at 40. The country's first ever non-host qualification is the most-cited fact of the tournament; whether anything more than that happens depends on how the Asian-Cup-winning football travels against opposition that has not seen it.

AGENT-AUTHOREDAgent-authored tournament read. Treat the framing and group outlook as editorial judgement; sourced facts are separated below.

Top three starsGROUNDED

Al-Sadd · Forward / attacking midfield
Akram Afif
Captain. AFC Asian Cup 2023 Player of the Tournament — eight goals including three penalties in the final against Jordan. The single greatest individual tournament performance in Qatari football history.
Al-Duhail · Centre-forward
Almoez Ali
AFC Asian Cup 2019 Player of the Tournament + Golden Boot winner. The senior number 9, the player Qatar's pressing-and-counter shape has been organised around for the better part of a decade.
Al-Sadd · Central midfield
Hassan Al-Haydos
The senior dressing-room voice. 178 caps and counting, Qatar's most-capped player ever, central to both the 2019 and 2023 AFC Asian Cup-winning squads.

Qualifying scorer sketchAGENT-AUTHORED

Agent-authored figures · needs verification before match-use.

01 Akram Afif · Al-Sadd6 g · 8 of 10
02 Almoez Ali · Al-Duhail5 g · 9 of 10
03 Hassan Al-Haydos · Al-Sadd2 g · 10 of 10

Road to 2026GROUNDED

2 DEC 2022
Eliminated from the Qatar 2022 World Cup in the group stage
The host nation lost all three group matches (0-2 Ecuador, 1-3 Senegal, 0-2 Netherlands) — the worst tournament performance by a host country in World Cup history.
15 DEC 2023
Bartolomé Márquez appointed head coach
Replaced Carlos Queiroz after a six-month stint. The Spanish appointment ahead of the home AFC Asian Cup tournament.
10 FEB 2024
Won AFC Asian Cup 2023 with a 3-1 final win over Jordan
Akram Afif scored three penalties in the final — the first hat-trick scored entirely from the spot in any AFC Asian Cup final. Qatar's second consecutive continental title.
5 DEC 2025
Drawn into Group B with Canada, Switzerland, Bosnia
Canada (host) is the seeded test. Switzerland are the perennial round-of-16 European piece. Bosnia are the UEFA Path A playoff winners over Italy. A genuinely competitive group.

Did you knowGROUNDED

Qatar are the reigning two-time AFC Asian Cup champions, having won the 2019 tournament in the UAE (beating Japan 3-1 in the final) and the 2023 tournament at home (beating Jordan 3-1 in the final). They are the only Asian nation to have won the AFC Asian Cup back-to-back since Saudi Arabia in 1984 and 1988.
Qatar's only previous World Cup appearance was the 2022 tournament they hosted — eliminated in the group stage after losing all three matches, the worst tournament performance by a host country in World Cup history.
Akram Afif scored three penalties in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 final against Jordan — the first hat-trick scored entirely from the penalty spot in any AFC Asian Cup or major continental final. He was named Player of the Tournament with eight goals across seven matches.
Qatar qualified for the 2026 World Cup through the AFC qualifying route — the country's first ever non-host World Cup qualification.

Manager + squad

In charge since 1 DEC 2023

Bartolomé "Tintín" Márquez

Spanish, ex-Sevilla youth + Al-Sadd assistant. Took the head coach role after Carlos Queiroz's brief stint and won the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in his first six matches. Pragmatic 4-3-3, Akram Afif as the focal point, set-piece organisation as the structural identity.

Squad status

Provisional squad announced — final cuts pending

The rest of Group B

Canada
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Switzerland

← All 12 groups