Issa Laye spent four years in Lusail, largely unnoticed in the depths of the Qatari second division, yet has proved himself among the country’s best defenders in the two seasons of top-flight football that have followed.

The now 28-year-old’s eligibility to represent Qatar coincided almost perfectly with Lopetegui’s bid to inject new profiles into the set-up. Al Annabi’s defence has aged visibly and leaked goals with a regularity that almost dug their own grave during the World Cup qualification. Laye may not be an automatic starter, despite getting ample minutes against Ireland and El Salvador, but in a backline that needs freshness as much as it needs quality, he offers both.