Vienna, July 11 (QNA) - The Qatar national football team has kicked off its overseas training camp today in the Austrian town of Going am Wilden Kaiser, as part of preparations for the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers, the intercontinental playoff, for the FIFA World Cup 2026, set to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The preparatory camp will run until July 27, during which the reigning two-time AFC Asian Cup champions are scheduled to play two friendly matches, as they gear up for the decisive qualification stage.

Head coach Julen Lopetegui is aiming to make the most of the training camp by fine-tuning his squad, optimizing physical and tactical readiness, and identifying his best starting XI. The team is hoping to secure a place at the World Cup for a second consecutive time, this time through the qualification route, after appearing as hosts in the 2022 edition.

Lopetegui's squad for the camp includes a mix of fresh faces and returning veterans. Notably, Al Sadd midfielder Guilherme Torres has earned his first national team call-up, while seasoned forward and former captain Hassan Al Haydos returns to the fold. Goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb has been left out, with Marwan Sharif and Shehab Al Laithi brought in to reinforce the position. New defensive additions include Youssef Ayman (Al Duhail) and Abdullah Al Yazidi (Al Sadd).

The current 30-man squad includes four goalkeepers: Meshaal Barsham, Salah Zakaria, Marwan Sharif, and Shehab Al Laithi. The full squad is as follows:

Ahmed Al Janahi, Ahmed Al Rawi, Ahmed Suhail, Ahmed Fathy, Akram Afif, Ismaeel Mohammed, Edmilson Junior, Almoez Ali, Bassam Al Rawi, Boualem Khoukhi, Pedro Miguel, Jassem Gaber, Hazem Ahmed, Tarek Salman, Assim Madibo, Abdulaziz Hatem, Abdullah Yousef, Mohammed Muntari, Mostafa Tarek, Homam Al Amin, Karim Boudiaf, Mohammed Manee, Youssef Abdurisag, Youssef Ayman, Abdullah Al Yazidi, and Guilherme Torres.

In June, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced that Qatar and Saudi Arabia would co-host the fourth-round playoff matches, which will take place from October 8 to 14, 2025. The draw for the playoff stage is set to be held next Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Six teams will compete in the playoff stage: Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, those that finished third and fourth in their respective groups during the third round of qualification.

The teams will be split into two groups of three, with matches played in a single-round robin format. The winner of each group will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The runners-up from both groups will face each other in a two-legged playoff on November 13 and 18, 2025, with the winner progressing to the intercontinental playoff for a final chance to reach the World Cup.

Ranked 53rd in the world, Qatar reached this playoff stage after finishing fourth in Group A of the third round with 13 points from 10 matches, behind Iran (23 points), Uzbekistan (21 points), and the UAE (15 points). Kyrgyzstan finished fifth with 8 points, while North Korea came sixth with 3 points. (QNA)