Qatar World Cup 2026 squad: Julen Lopetegui's latest selection for March training camp

Qatar World Cup 2026 squad: Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui looks on ahead of a game against Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan in September 2018. — Julen Lopetegui, manager of the Qatar national football team (Image credit: Getty Images)

Jump To:

Squad
Fixtures
Recent Results
Manager
Star player
Best XI

The Qatar World Cup 2026 squad is the first to have qualified for the World Cup after the nation played in the 2022 tournament as hosts.

Qatar will target a better showing at World Cup 2026 after crashing out in the group stage, but their plans have been disrupted by matters that extend far beyond football. Their March friendlies were cancelled and a training camp arranged to fill the gap.

Qatar beat the United Arab Emirates and drew with Oman to officially qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the fourth round of AFC qualifying.

They were one of two designated ‘hosts’ for the three team groups, meaning both games were played in front of a home crowd for what could be the last time for a while.

Qatar also hosted December's Arab Cup for the second time consecutively and the third time overall. They failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time, finishing bottom of their group without winning a match.

The players that convened in March included only two that play outside Qatar. Defender Homam Ahmed plays in Spain for Cultural Leonesa, midfielder Mostafa Meshaal for Eupen in Belgium.

Squad

Qatar World Cup 2026 squad: The March training camp selection

GK: Shehab Ellethy (Al-Shahaniya)
GK: Mahmud Abunada (Al-Arabi)
GK: Meshaal Barsham (Al-Sadd)
GK: Salah Zakaria (Al-Duhail)
DF: Issa Laye (Al-Arabi)
DF: Lucas Mendes (Al-Wakrah)
DF: Tarek Salman (Al-Sadd)
DF: Ayoub Al-Oui (Al-Gharafa)
DF: Homam Ahmed (Cultural Leonesa)
DF: Yousef Aymen (Al-Duhail)
DF: Al-Hashmi Al-Hussain (Al-Arabi)
DF: Sultan Al-Brake (Al-Duhail)
DF: Boualem Khoukhi (Al-Sadd)
DF: Pedro Miguel (Al-Sadd)
DF: Bassam Al-Rawi (Al-Duhail)
DF: Niall Mason (Qatar SC)
DF: Eisa Palangi (Qatar SC)
DF: Marwan Sherif (Al-Arabi)
MF: Mohammed Waad (Al-Sadd)
MF: Abdulaziz Hatem (Al-Rayyan)
MF: Jassem Gaber (Al-Rayyan)
MF: Khalid Ali Sabah (Al-Sailiya)
MF: Mohamed Al-Mannai (Al-Shamal)
MF: Ahmed Fathy (Al-Arabi)
MF: Karim Boudiaf (Al-Duhail)
MF: Assim Madibo (Al-Wakrah)
MF: Mostafa Meshaal (Eupen)
MF: Ibrahim Al-Hassan (Al-Rayyan)
MF: Anas Abweny (Al-Sadd)
FW: Ahmed Alaaeldin (Al-Rayyan)
FW: Mohammed Muntari (Al-Gharafa)
FW: Akram Afif (Al-Sadd)
FW: Edmilson Junior (Al-Duhail)
FW: Mohamed Khaled Gouda (Al-Arabi)
FW: Hassan Al-Haydos (Al-Sadd)
FW: Almoez Ali (Al-Duhail)
FW: Yusuf Abdurisag (Al-Wakrah)
FW: Ahmed Al Ganehi (Al-Gharafa)
FW: Ahmed Al-Rawi (Qatar SC)
FW: Mubarak Shanan (Al-Duhail)

Fixtures

May 28, 2026: Republic of Ireland vs Qatar, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
June 13, 2026: Qatar vs Switzerland, Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, United States
June 18, 2026: Canada vs Qatar, BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
June 24, 2026: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Qatar, Lumen Field, Seattle, United States

Manager

Who is Qatar's manager?

Julen Lopetegui, Head Coach of Sevilla celebrates with the UEFA Europa League Trophy following his team's victory in during the UEFA Europa League Final between Seville and FC Internazionale at RheinEnergieStadion on August 21, 2020 in Cologne, Germany. — Julen Lopetegui, Head Coach of Sevilla celebrates with the UEFA Europa League (Image credit: Ina Fassbender/Pool via Getty Images)

Qatar’s last six managers have all been from the Iberian Peninsula, with their last three being Spanish. Julen Lopetegui who is the current manager, is the most high profile to have had the role.

His previous experience includes Real Madrid, where he lasted less than half a season before being sacked. He enjoyed a better spell at Sevilla, where he won the Europa League.

Lopetegui will be familiar to English football fans, having had two stints in the Premier League in the past few years. He was in charge of Wolves before leaving on the eve of the new season in 2023, before taking charge of West Ham, again only for just over half a season before being sacked.

Star player

Who is Qatar's star player?

Almoez Ali has represented Qatar at several major tournaments. He was part of the Qatari team that participated in the 2019 Copa America, scoring against Paraguay.

He also participated in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he scored four times and won the top scorer award, as Qatar finished third.

He was also in the squad for the 2022 World Cup featuring in every game. He’ll be hoping to break his duck in 2026 and become just the second ever Qatari player to score in the tournament.

Best XI

TOPICS

Ewan is a freelance writer and social media manager who has worked for The Athletic, GOAL, 90min and OneFootball. From Gelsenkirchen to Riyadh, he has covered some of the biggest games in football in his three years in the industry.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.