Qatar has been building to this moment for years. Even before FIFA accepted the small Middle Eastern nation’s bid for the 2022 tournament back in 2010, there has been a clear plan in place for both the country and its national team to put on a show when the time comes. But the lead-up to the tournament hasn’t been without drama, scandal, tragedy and controversy. Multiple reports have surfaced over the last decade surrounding the mistreatment and deaths of migrant workers building the tournament infrastructure. Questions have been raised surrounding the politics of the country for visitors—a ban on alcohol was announced, then (partially) repealed, and it’s still not clear how the nation will treat LGBTQ+ fans, as homosexuality is considered a crime in the country. FIFA even wrote a letter to participating national teams effectively telling them to stick to sports.
On the pitch, the Qataris have fielded one of the most interesting teams at the tournament. A number of their key players are naturalized citizens who played at least five years at clubs in the country. But while they hail from around the world, they’re experienced—and experienced together. Manager Félix Sánchez has spent years building a cohesive team—he became senior national team coach five years ago but has been involved with the Aspire Academy and Qatari youth teams since leaving Barcelona in 2006—primarily of players among the top clubs in the Qatar Stars League.
Qatar may have automatically qualified as host, but it’s the reigning Asian Cup champion (2019) and breezed through its Asian qualifying matches, winning seven and drawing one while allowing just one goal (it participated in the second round of World Cup qualifying, as it doubled as 2023 Asian Cup qualifying). That said, it has lost six straight matches against World Cup-bound teams. If it hopes for a shocking run to the knockout stage, then it will have to ride its experience along with any energy from the home crowd cheering on what is the culmination of a truly comprehensive sporting project.
