Currently ranked 34th by FIFA, Qatar has already secured qualification for the next round of Asian Cup qualifiers.

Qatar’s national team coach Marquez Lopez has opted to rest 2023 Asian Cup stars Akram Afif and Almoez Ali, naming a younger squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 and Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers next month.

Lopez’s squad will face Afghanistan on June 6 in Saudi Arabia, followed by a match against India on June 11. Veteran players Pedro Miguel, Meshaal Barsham, and Bassam Al-Rawi have also been left out.

With Qatar having already secured qualification for the next round of Asian Cup qualifiers after defeating India 3-0 and Afghanistan 8-1 last November, the team will use these matches to refresh its roster.

Rising football stars like Amir Hassan, Saad al-Sheeb, Mustafa Tariq, and Tahsin Mohammed have been called up for the international co-qualifier matches. 

Several teams have progressed in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification tournament, comprising of four rounds. 

Qatar, which has had a dominant start in Group A with wins over India and Afghanistan, will advance to the third round of FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifications while clinching a spot at the upcoming Saudi Arabia AFC Asian Cup in 2027. 

Earlier this year, Qatar saw a significant rise in its football stature. After beating Jordan in the AFC Asian Cup final, the two-time winners climbed over 20 places to secure the 34th position in the latest FIFA Ranking.

Full Squad

Amir Hassan, Ali Nader, Saad al-Sheeb, Shehab al-Laithi, Abdullah al-Ahrak, Abdullah al-Yazidi, Abdullah Youseff, Ahmed al-Janahi, Ahmed Fathy, Ahmed al-Rawi, Al Hashaemi al-Hussein, Fares Saeed, Homam al-Amin, Hazem Ahmed, Ibrahim al-Hassan, Jassim al-Sharsani, Khaled Ali, Mahdi Maged al-Moajaba, Mohamed Ayash, Mohamed Khaled, Mustafa Tariq, Nabeel Irfan, Naif al-Hadhrami, Tahsin Mohamed, Tamim Mansour, Youseff Abdulrazzaq, Youseff Ayman, Youseff Mohamed and Youseff Ziad.