Doha, July 25 (QNA) - Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, manager of the Qatar senior national football team, has called up Nabil Irfan and Mohamed Khaled Jouda to join the squad’s current training camp in Austria.

The camp, which began on Jul. 13 and runs until Jul. 27, is part of preparations for the fourth round (playoff stage) of the Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Initially selected for the Qatar U-23 squad’s domestic training camp ahead of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, set to take place in Saudi Arabia early next year, Irfan (Al Wakrah) and Jouda (Al Arabi) were later invited to join the senior team.

The call-ups come amid coordination between the Qatari Football Association and club sides, as Al Duhail players were granted permission to join their club’s camp in the Netherlands. This is part of a strategic plan between national team coach Lopetegui and Al Duhail’s coach Djamel Belmadi to prepare for their upcoming AFC Champions League Elite qualifier against Sepahan Isfahan (Iran), scheduled in Doha on Aug. 12.

Earlier this week, on Wednesday, Qatar’s national team defeated Ukraine’s Metalist in a friendly match 2-0. The team is set to play its final friendly against Italy’s Udinese this coming Sunday.

Qatar will compete in the playoff qualifiers from Oct. 8 to 14, placed in Group A alongside Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The group matches will be hosted at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

According to the playoff format, the top team from each group qualifies directly for the FIFA World Cup 2026, joining Japan, South Korea, Iran, Jordan, Uzbekistan, and Australia, all of whom secured spots in the third round.

The second-placed teams from each group will face off in home-and-away matches on Nov. 13 and 18, 2025, with the winner advancing to the global playoff. (QNA)