Qatar at AFC Asian Cup 2023: Hosts, defending champions but not favourites

Lusail Stadium, which played host as Lionel Messi’s Argentina lifted their third FIFA World Cup crown, will light up in gold once again as Qatar begin their AFC Asian Cup title defence in the tournament’s opening match against Lebanon on Friday evening.

The Al Annabi (the Maroons) may enjoy the support of a partisan crowd as they step on the pitch as defending champions, but their journey from lifting the trophy in 2019 to hosting the current edition has been turbulent.

Qatar go into the tournament on the back of big wins in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, but their outings against higher-ranked teams have resulted in heavy losses in recent months. Paired with the sacking of the vastly experienced former Portugal and Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz a month before the Asian Cup and only 10 months into the job, they have left question marks over Qatar’s preparations.

Queiroz took over from Felix Sanchez – a popular Spanish coach who worked his way up in Qatar’s football setup and led Qatar to the Asian Cup triumph in the United Arab Emirates four years ago. However, Sanchez’s contract was not renewed at the end of 2022, as he saw Qatar lose all three of their group stage matches as hosts of the 2022 World Cup.

Another Spanish coach, Marquez Lopez, who was previously in charge of Qatar Stars League club Al Wakrah, was quickly appointed Quieroz’s successor.

It is far from the preparations and build-up the team that shocked Japan in the final four years ago would have liked.

Qatar to use pressure ‘in a positive way’

Nonetheless, Qatar are expected to make a strong defence of a trophy they fought so hard to lift for the first time and defender Tarek Salman says the pressure is not the same as it was going into the World Cup.

The 26-year-old, who plays for Qatari club Al Sadd, did admit that the change of management meant the players have been required to adapt to a Spanish style. Publicly the players have welcomed the appointment and Salman says it is a late change of direction that he believes the team can navigate.

“I think it’s going to fit us and we hope to achieve good things with the coach,” he added.

Former national team player Raed Yaqoub, who represented his country between 1993 and 2001, says that despite the upheaval, Qatar should easily get out of a group that also contains China and Tajikistan, and that the semifinals should be possible.

The 49-year-old player-turned-pundit, who made 23 appearances for the national team, has sympathy for the task the lies before Lopez after the events of December.

“I think that holding him responsible only a month before the tournament is a mistake,” he said, adding that he sees Japan, as the strongest team, while also fancying Roberto Mancini’s Saudi Arabia.