Al Annabi’s first win of the campaign came at the Al Thumama Stadium with the old guard powering them yet again ahead of a tough tie against Iran.

The forward duo of Almoez Ali and Akram Afif starred again as Qatar beat Kyrgyzstan 3-1 in Doha’s Al Thumama Stadium to bag their first victory in the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers.

Ali opened the scoring in the 39th minute for the hosts and set up 18-year-old Ibrahim Al-Hassan in the 81st minute as Afif ran the show, forcing an own goal with his cross three minutes after the hour mark.

Midfielder Alimardon Shukurov’s sumptuous strike in the 76th minute was all that the visitors could manage on the night in front of 25,195 present on Thursday evening.

Qatar came into the tie under pressure after failing to win their first two matches despite taking the lead first on both occasions.

A 3-1 opening day loss at home against UAE was followed by a rain-soaked 2-2 draw in Laos against North Korea, a draw that head coach Bartolome Marquez Lopez said “felt like a defeat.”

The Spaniard, however, was pleased after the Kyrgyzstan game that Qatar will look back as the night they opened the tinder box if they make it to the World Cup from Group A.

“We got three important points tonight. We had prepared well and we controlled the match accordingly. I’m pleased that we created a lot of chances,” the 61-year-old said after the clash.

Marquez Lopez started the game with tangible shuffles in the line-up, mostly due to injuries. Al Rayyan’s experienced midfielder Abdelaziz Hatem took the captain’s armband as the experienced defensive duo of Abdelkarim Hassan and Boualem Khoukhi made a comeback into the starting eleven.

Al Duhail playmaker Edmilson Junior started his first game in the Maroon shirt as Al Ahli’s winger Abdelrahman Moustafa joined him on the opposite wing.

That was apparent in the Al Annabi’s style of play, as they looked to ease the creative pressure off Ali and Afif for the first time in this campaign and the first goal came with the involvement of the players that were brought in.

Qatar’s pressure and urgency to create chances were awarded with just six minutes of regular time left in the first half. Ali broke the deadlock, tapping in after a corner sequence.

Edmilson’s corner was headed on the post by Moustafa, which ultimately found an unmarked Ali just in front of the goal line.

“There will be changes in the squad, but my ideas will always remain the same,” Marquez Lopez said about his approach. “We will press high, look to keep the ball and try to dominate our opponents. It is not possible all the time, but that will always be the intent.”

It was Qatar’s aggressive push forward that forced two errors from the Kyrgyz defence, ultimately yielding two goals in the second half for the hosts.

Akram Afif’s cross in the 63rd minute was tapped in his own post by defender Tamirlan Kozubaev to double Qatar’s lead.

Afif’s high press then forced another error off the opposition defence as Ali found the missed pass and released Al-Hassan for his second goal for the senior team.

18-year-old Al-Hassan, who made a swift run from the midfield to score, has now been on the scoresheet in both home games that Qatar have played in the third round of qualifiers.

Kyrgyzstan’s only goal of the game came between the hosts’ two second-half goals as Shukorov controlled a long ball inside the box before volleying it with his weaker left foot beyond Qatari keeper Meshaal Barsham’s reach.

The visitors’ coach Maksim Lisitsyn blamed lost of concentration at times for his side’s loss.

“Some things went as per our plan, but we lost concentration and conceded the first goal. After that, we did not capitalize on our moments,” he said. “We know our opponents were quick and we tried our best to contain them. But the quality of their players made it possible for them to overcome our efforts.”

Lisitsyn’s side currently lie winless in the group following three defeats in their opening games and the next game will see them welcome North Korea at the Spartak Stadium.

“We’ll have to take some risky steps now to try and get points. The main goal now is to recover our players quickly and have a good trip back home,” he added.

With Uzbekistan’s goalless draw against Iran in Tashkent and North Korea’s spirited effort at Al Ain to salvage a 1-1 draw against the UAE, Qatar have climbed up to the fourth position with four points.

That makes things look a bit better for Qatar, but Qatar’s head coach reiterated that there’s no room to slack due to the immense competition at play.

“It is easy to assume that Qatar will win all of its matches after the Asian Cup win,” he said. “The truth is the opposite, it is not easy at this stage at all. I’m happy for the win, but we need to get back to preparing for the next clash against Iran starting tomorrow.”

Qatar will now face Iran on October 15 in UAE, after the game originally scheduled to be hosted in Mashhad’s Imam Reza Stadium was moved to the Emirates due to regional escalations.