Doha, Qatar \u2013 The Qatar national football team is intensifying its preparations under newly appointed head coach Julen Lopetegui ahead of a decisive showdown against Iran in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.<\/p>\n
Set to take place on Thursday at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, the match is critical for Qatar\u2019s hopes of advancing in the qualification campaign. Following the Iran clash, the team will travel to Tashkent to face Uzbekistan on June 10 in what will be their final fixture of the third round of Asian qualifiers.<\/p>\n
After failing to secure automatic qualification from Group A, Qatar\u2014winners of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup\u2014are aiming to progress to the fourth round and keep their World Cup hopes alive. Having debuted in the global showpiece as hosts in 2022, the Maroons now seek to qualify on merit for the first time.<\/p>\n
Iran, already through with 20 points, lead the group, while Uzbekistan are close behind with 17 points. The UAE remain in contention with 13 points, while Qatar currently sit fourth on 10 points\u2014four ahead of Kyrgyzstan, who are also chasing a fourth-round berth.<\/p>\n
The next round will feature the third- and fourth-placed teams from each third-round group competing for one qualification spot per group, intensifying the pressure on Qatar to deliver in these final matches.<\/p>\n
Lopetegui, a former Spain and Real Madrid manager, expressed confidence in his squad during a recent interview with Alkass television.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a very balanced squad with players of different playing styles,\u201d Lopetegui said. \u201cOur focus is fully on Iran and Uzbekistan. While not easy, a win against Iran is still possible, and our aim is clear\u2014we want to reach the play-offs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Spaniard, who replaced Luis Garcia last month, has called up a full-strength 28-man squad featuring key forwards Almoez Ali and Akram Afif. The team has been holding daily training sessions at the Khalifa International Stadium in preparation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Iran\u2019s head coach Amir Ghalenoei announced his squad on Sunday, which includes star striker Mehdi Taremi of Inter Milan. After their match in Doha, Iran will host North Korea in Tehran on June 10. North Korea are already eliminated, with just two points from the campaign.<\/p>\n
Qatar’s path to the next World Cup may be narrow, but the team is determined to fight until the end under their new leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Doha, Qatar \u2013 The Qatar national football team is intensifying its preparations under newly appointed head coach Julen Lopetegui ahead of a decisive showdown against Iran in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Set to take place on Thursday at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, the match is critical for Qatar\u2019s hopes of advancing in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n