Lopetegui Selects Qatar National Team For 2026 World Cup Fourth-Round Qualifiers

Doha: Julen Lopetegui, head coach of the Qatar national football team, has announced a 30-man squad ahead of the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026, set to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The squad features four goalkeepers: Meshaal Barsham, Salah Zakaria, Marwan Sherif, and Shehab Al-Laithi. The list also includes key players such as Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Edmilson Junior, Pedro Miguel, Bassam Al-Rawi, Boualem Khoukhi, Karim Boudiaf, and Ismail Mohamed.

Lopetegui's selection also includes the first national team call-up for Al Sadd midfielder Guilherme Torres. Notably, former captain Hassan Al-Haydos has been recalled after his retirement from international football earlier this year.

Al-Haydos remains the most capped player in Qatar's history, with 183 international appearances and 41 goals. He played a central role in Qatar's AFC Asian Cup victories in 2019 and 2023. The veteran forward continues to feature for Al Sadd, having recently renewed his contract with the Qatar Stars League champions.

The new roster sees some changes from the May fixtures against Iran and Uzbekistan. Goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb is excluded from the squad, while young keepers Marwan Sherif and Shehab Al-Laithi have been called up. Defenders Youssef Ayman (Al Duhail) and Abdullah Al-Yazidi (Al Sadd) have also been added to the squad.

The Qatar Football Association has confirmed that the national team will begin its training camp in Austria on July 11. The camp will run until July 27 and will include two international friendly matches as preparation for the October qualifiers.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) earlier confirmed that Qatar and Saudi Arabia will co-host the fourth-round play-off matches from October 8 to 14, 2025. The official draw is scheduled for July 17.

The six teams participating in this round include Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. These teams, having finished third and fourth in their respective groups in the third round, will be split into two groups of three. The top team in each group will directly qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The second-placed teams from each group will meet in a two-legged tie on November 13 and 18, 2025. The winner will progress to the intercontinental play-off for a final chance at World Cup qualification.

Qatar advanced to the fourth round after finishing fourth in Group A with 13 points from ten matches. Iran topped the group with 23 points, followed by Uzbekistan with 21, the UAE with 15, Kyrgyzstan with 8, and North Korea with 3.

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