D-Day: Qatar set for long-awaited World Cup debut

The day is finally here. It’s been a long wait, and that may be an understatement. Almost 12 years have passed since Sepp Blatter opened that envelope in Zurich, marking the start of a tumultuous and controversial period of preparation for Qatar to host the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East.

Throughout that period, something often missed in the debates was the Qatar national team itself. Two qualification cycles have passed since then, and Al-Annabi failed to qualify for Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, meaning they would have the unwanted label of being the first hosts since Italy in 1934 to have never played at a World Cup earlier.

For me, growing up in Qatar and supporting the national team, the permanent source of despair was the fact that we have never made it to a World Cup. I was only around four years old when Qatar came closest to a World Cup, and that was in a decisive qualifier for the 1998 edition.

Needing only a draw against Saudi Arabia at home to secure a historic qualification, the Qatari team, coached by Džemal Hadžiabdić a.k.a. Jamal Haji, went on to lose 1-0, and the neighbours went through. It is said the Bosnian coach stood on the sidelines with a dejected face, with the rain pouring down at the old Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, struggling to accept the scale of the missed opportunity.

Bosnian coach Jamal Haji took Qatar to the cusp of the 1998 World Cup

I often imagine what it would have been like if Qatar actually qualified that night. If it was Qatar that went on to play against Denmark at the Stade Félix-Bollaert, in Lens that summer, for their first-ever World Cup game. Think of it: Mubarak Mustafa and Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi leading the attack for Al-Annabi at the world stage. It would have been followed by games against South Africa, and then hosts and eventual champions France. Regardless of the results, that appearance would have changed the face of Qatari football and set the tone for the years to come.

In reality, Qatar’s focus slowly turned to naturalisation in the new millennium. It’s a story for another debate, and something I’ve already covered in another piece. At the peak of Qatar’s naturalisation era, the national team would sometimes line up with just three players born in the country.

A NEW COACH, A NEW ERA

It’s interesting to look at the 1998-2022 period and the various ups and downs, and how Qatar experimented with naturalisation before finally settling on the policy of focusing on generation after generation of homegrown players developed at the Aspire Academy. One person’s name stands out in that story – Felix Sanchez Bas, who has earned himself an immortal place in the nation’s footballing annals.

Qatar’s record of never qualifying for a World Cup would have been a reason for grave concern going into 2022, if not for the team’s dramatic rise since Sanchez took over in 2017, a period that has since seen them win the AFC Asian Cup, and gain experience in competitions across the globe. For some observers at least, it wasn’t a surprise. Prior to the start of the tournament, when Spanish legend Xavi, having spent time in the country playing for Al-Sadd, tipped the national team to win the Asian Cup, it sparked ridicule and endless memes.

Xavi’s belief in the team would be vindicated, when they went on to prove their doubters wrong by beating favourites Japan in the final after a spectacular campaign, in the face of difficult conditions brought upon by the Gulf crisis. The kind of composure and maturity the team showed in the UAE during the Asian Cup was exceptional, and sadly, it hasn’t been replicated since. As we go into the historic opening game of Qatar 2022 against Ecuador on Sunday, the hope is the team will finally show the same sparkle.

It remains that – a hope – because we have been witnesses to several underwhelming performances in the last four years. Some of those performances led to fans making calls for Sanchez to be replaced. Nothing of that sort has happened. The Catalan coach’s position has always been secure. There seems to be hope in the higher ranks of the QFA, that Sanchez will be the right person to squeeze out the best from this group of players, many of who have grown up under his tutelage as teenagers.

Sanchez and his side delivered spectacularly at the 2019 Asian Cup but things haven’t been quite the same since then

Sanchez has been pretty successful during his tenure, even without counting the Asian Cup, when you compare him to his predecessors. Then again, no other coach was given the time and scale of resources that he was afforded, so that point may be moot. As the head of this project, he was rightly given credit for the Asian Cup triumph, but a lot has been asked about his management of the team after that night in Abu Dhabi. Instead of linear progression, the period that followed has seen highs and lows.

While a respectable showing at the Copa America and the run to the Gold Cup semifinals may rank among the highs, the semifinal defeats at the 2019 Gulf Cup and the 2021 Arab Cup (when Qatar was expected to win the title on both occasions) threatened to spoil his status among fans. There were a lot of expectations on his shoulders, and it may be a tad unfair, considering how the team seemed to peak early at the Asian Cup and there never was a good enough second string waiting on the touchline. So, while he has trudged his way towards the World Cup with an almost similar first XI to the Asian Cup, it was because he didn’t believe he had better options but that hasn’t stopped the criticism.

THE PLAYERS AND THE TACTICS

Every Qatar team preview will mention Akram Afif and Almoez Ali in this column, and they’re right to do that. But there are at least a couple of other names who deserve a shoutout, especially considering how important they are to the team.

Going into a tournament like the World Cup, which is obviously unlike any experience Qatar has had, Khoukhi Boualem is arguably the most crucial player. He is the heart of the backline and without him, there is no one really to mop up after a mistake which is almost a certainty. Even on his bad days, he is still the best defender on the team and I shudder to think what Qatar will do if they are to play without him.

Homam Al Amin was a great watch at the Gold Cup, where he really established himself as the starting left back, with Abdelkarim Hassan mostly playing as the left-sided center-back or on the bench. Homam is confident and determined and has a knack for slipping past opponents during his runs through the flank. He had a short stint at Aspire-owned KAS Eupen in Belgium, as part of his footballing education, but if he keeps growing during the World Cup and grabs eyeballs, he could earn himself another move – a proper one – to a European league.

Homam Al-Amin should be your hipster pick for your World Cup fantasy team

Abdullah Al-Ahrak has sadly been ruled out with a cruciate ligament injury. He was a great utility player and had some experience playing in Europe as well. As for those short on fitness, from what I’ve heard, Hassan Al-Haydos is still suffering from the aftermath of a recent injury. Despite that pain, he has continued to play in friendly games over the past month, and it remains to be seen if there will be any repercussions for that decision.

Squad depth has been an issue that many observers have pointed out, myself included, over the past few years after the Asian Cup victory. Qatar has not been able to build on that triumph and instead seemed to have stagnated in terms of performance, with many players now either 32 or older, without having adequate replacements capable of doing what’s needed at the World Cup level. That said, they all seem to have a knack to come together when under pressure, like when they did at the Asian Cup. They’ve also had the experience of playing against opponents from almost every corner of the world in the last four years, so that’s definitely a plus if they can benefit from the knowledge gained.

Can the players keep a cool head? That’s also a question in my head. So many times in recent matches, we have seen unnecessary red cards and players crowding around the referee, or being riled up by the opponent. All of this will hamper Sanchez’s game plan.

Tactically, I hope Sanchez will be pragmatic like he was at the Asian Cup, and I expect that will be the case. In terms of systems, Sanchez has shifted between 3-5-2 and 5-3-2 depending on the flow of the game, and we will probably see the same in the World Cup. His coaching team know their players inside out, and along with some excellent analysis, they can set this team up in the most suitable way to face any opponent. Some are quick to label Qatar as a high-pressing side that wants the ball, but even without it, Sanchez’s side have been dangerous. In the Asian Cup final against Japan, for example, Qatar ended with 36% of the possession and still won 3-1.

In terms of overdependence, I would really love to see Qatar develop outlets of creativity beyond Akram Afif, but that’s easier said than done. Akram is an exceptional talent but also one player most opponents will be aware of. The big question is what Qatar can offer, once he is taken out of the game.

FINAL WORD

There’s a lot more to be said beyond this stream-of-consciousness monologue. Qatar has this wonderful opportunity to tell its football story to the world, and I must admit I’m nervous. What if it all goes wrong? What if the opening game is a disastrous loss? I’m sure I’m not the only follower of Qatari football thinking about these things.

Yet, I also know that this is a group of strong players, who have been almost singularly focused on this World Cup and have dedicated so much time and energy to this. My belief is that they will have spared no effort in preparing for this moment in every sense.

In them, we put our hopes. In them, we believe, and in them, lies the future.

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