The Qatar squad will face Kuwait twice this month in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
Head coach Marquez Lopez has announced his 25-man Qatar squad ahead of the Gulf State’s match against Kuwait, who they will play against twice this month in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 joint qualifiers.
Confirmed as Qatar coach until 2026 after ushering Qatar to back-to-back AFC Asian Cup titles last month, Lopez will be absent of one of his most famed stars, Qatari captain Hassan Al-Haydos.
The 33-year-old star, who has played 183 international matches, scoring 41 goals, announced his farewell to international football after playing for Qatar for 16 years.
Announcing the decision ahead of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers against Kuwait, set to kick off on March 21, the Qatari captain posted a video online that confirmed his departure.
“You’re all heroes, and you have an important task ahead of you, to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in Qatar’s history and we all have confidence in you,” Al-Haydos said sitting alongside Lopez.
A new era will emerge on the pitch as Al Shamal defender Mahdi al-Muajba and Al Ahli defender Mohamed Ayyash are the new faces in the national team squad.
Returning to goalkeepers, Meshaal Barsham, Salah Zakaria, and Saud al-Khater will aim to protect the Qatari box.
At the same time, Mahdi Ali, Lucas Mendez, Tariq Salman, Hommam al-Amin, Bassam al-Rawi, Sultan al-Breik, and Mohamed Ayyash have been enrolled as the team’s defenders.
Joining the midfielders will be Ahmed Fathi, Jassim Jaber, Abdullah al-Maarafi, Abdulaziz Hatem, Mohamed Waad, Mustafa Meshaal, Mahdi al-Muajba and Abdullah Abdulsalam al-Ahraq.
For the forwards, Almoez Ali and Akram Afif will return after stellar performances at the AFC Asian Cup 2023 with
Ahmed al-Janhi, Ahmed Alaa, Youssef Abdul Razzaq, Ahmed al-Rawi and Ismail Mohamed.
Qatar will first host the Kuwait team at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.
The Maroons will then travel to Kuwait for the reverse fixture, which is scheduled for March 26th.
Qatar’s Al-Annabi has already cruised past India, recording a 3-0 win in their second successive victory at the co-qualifiers match for the 2026 World Cup edition and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
The match came after Qatar dominated Afghanistan 8-1 last year in what was already expected to be a match favoured for the Maroons.
