The Qatari football team has been under great pressure since the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with disappointing results for the Asian champions in the last two editions in 2019 and 2023, which put them in a difficult tunnel in the direct qualification race.
The Gulf Cup, in its 26th edition, which begins tomorrow in Kuwait, has become a haven for “Al-Annabi” in order to restore confidence that was greatly shaken, affecting the previous technical staff and destroying some elements.
The Qatar national team has previously won the Arabian Gulf Cup title three times, in 1992, 2004 and 2014, and aspires to regain the title that has been absent from its coffers for 10 years.
The Qatari Federation had dismissed the Spanish “Tentin” Marques Lopes, coach of the first team, and appointed his assistant and compatriot Luis Garcia as interim coach, in a decision that was expected for the former, and a narrow choice imposed by the circumstances for the replacement.
During the previous period, Al-Ittihad searched for an alternative coach, as it entered into negotiations with Croatian Zlatko Dalic, who, although he visited Doha and studied the offer, preferred to complete his contract with his country’s national team until 2026.
French coach Christophe Galtier, Al-Duhail coach, was one of the solutions, but the agreement was not reached between the two parties, so Al-Ittihad found itself faced with the choice of former Espanyol coach Garcia.
The new coach, hours after his appointment, chose a list that was devoid of prominent names, such as Brazilian-born Edmilson Junior, defenders Abdelkarim Hassan and Khoukhi Boualem, and defensive midfielder Abdelaziz Hatem, in a move that seems surprising in light of the presence of the four main players in Lopes’ recent squads, while he was not called up. Veteran goalkeeper Saad Al-Shaib.
Qatar suffered three losses in the six matches in the first group, contenting itself with two victories and a draw, collecting only seven points, placing it in fourth place, three points behind the third UAE, six behind second Uzbekistan, and nine behind the leaders Iran, logically losing the opportunity to directly qualify for the World Cup by occupying one of the matches. First or second place.
The Qatari team will play during the Gulf Cup in the first group, where it will begin the journey by facing the Emirates tomorrow, before meeting the Omani team on the 24th of this month, then ending the first round by meeting the host Kuwaiti team on the 27th of this month.
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