Head Coach of Qatar national football team Julen Lopetegui also spoke about the disruption to the preparation program for the FIFA World Cup 2026 caused by the cancellation of the Qatar Festival, which had been scheduled for March and was supposed to include two high-level matches against reigning world champions Argentina and Serbia due to the circumstances the region experienced.

It was a difficult period not only for Qatar, but for all the countries in the region, especially during the March window. Two extremely important matches had to be canceled, and they would have represented a major test for the team. However, the approach was changed through a 10-day training camp during which high-quality training sessions were held and proved beneficial. The players have been out of their daily work with their teams for 15 days. In the end, the issue was overcome and attention turned to the next phase, which the team is now entering through three friendly matches before the World Cup: against Sudan in Doha, then Ireland in Dublin, and finally El Salvador in Los Angeles, USA.

The coach pointed out that difficult matches are often valuable in revealing a team’s true level of readiness. He referred to the home defeat against Russia last September, describing it as a very tough but highly instructive match that helped the team learn ahead of the major playoff fixtures against Oman and the UAE. He stressed that such matches teach important lessons, and that the team benefited from the experience before going on to deliver strong performances in the two official matches and secure qualification.

He noted that the period following qualification represented the opening of a new chapter of preparation for the major event in June. This included monitoring players in domestic and continental competitions before the training camp began on May 12, with a focus on making the most of the three preparatory friendlies in order to reach full readiness before the World Cup campaign begins.

Lopetegui stressed that the order of matches, according to the draw that placed Qatar in Group B — starting against Switzerland, then Canada, and finally Bosnia and Herzegovina — is simply a reality that must be dealt with.

He said that this is the reality the team must face, and it cannot be changed. Therefore, Qatar must accept that it will play against Switzerland and be ready to do its best against a very, very strong team, he noted.

He added that Switzerland “is maybe one of the more balanced team in Europe in the last eight years. They have the same coach. They have very good players. They play in the best competition around the world, Champions League, Premier League, Serie A, and La Liga, so we have to be ready to face them.”

He explained that Canada “is the same,” noting that an analysis of the team and its line-up shows that most of its players compete in the UEFA Champions League.

He added that facing Bosnia and Herzegovina will be no less difficult, especially since they qualified at the expense of Italy. Therefore, this is a reality that cannot be changed, and the best course of action is to prepare for it in the best possible way.

Although Lopetegui confirmed that Qatar national team has great ambition to be a strong competitor against all the teams in the group, he acknowledged at the same time that the mission will not be easy.

He said that the Qatari team earned the right to be at the World Cup and must now be ready to do its best while remaining humble. He added that the team is facing opponents from a higher level, saying “we are not best than them. But we have to compete against them on our ambitions. Our dream is to be able to be competitive in the World Cup.”

Head Coach of Qatar national team Julen Lopetegui told QNA that the current focus is not merely on knowing the opponent’s name, but on determining what the team can do to be able to be stronger from now until June 15. He stressed the importance of adapting both physically and mentally to the challenge of playing in the morning — something the players are not used to — noting that the team must begin working at that time of day and make significant adjustments over the coming month in order to be fully ready.

Regarding the impact of the national team’s star players, such as Akram Afif —  best Asian Player of Year 2019 and 2023 and best Qatari player on six occasions — along with the return of all-time leading scorer Almoez Ali after a long injury absence, the coach said “I don't want to talk about the individual names. This is about the team. Our strength is no one name. Our strength is to be able to do our best as a team. We are talking about the very highly demanding World Cup opponents. So, our answer has to be as a group.”

“In this case, I talk about Ali because unfortunately, he, I think play in the whole year two matches maximum. One match he was with us in October because unfortunately he has one injury, and one surgery after our camp in summer in July. He was out in the pre-season until October,” he added.

“He played with me the first match, 45 minutes in October. After this match, again, he suffered another injury and other surgery, and he was out until the last week. So, I believe playing two or two matches and half for sure is not enough to have the rhythm that you need. It's not to be ready or not, it's to have the rhythm that this competition is going to demand you. I hope that he will be better step by step,” Lopetegui said.

As for Akram, Lopetegui said that he is playing more and there is no problem because “he is playing a lot in his team, and it's good for him, it's good for us.”

Qatari national team began preparations on May 12 following the end of the football season, entering a domestic training camp with 34 players selected by coach Lopetegui in an expanded preliminary squad. The list included Meshaal Barsham, Mahmoud Abunada, Salah Zakaria, Shehab Al Laithi, Ahmed Al Janahi, Ahmed Alaa, Ahmed Fathi, Tariq Salman, Akram Afif, Edmilson Junior, Ayoub Al Alawi, Sultan Al Brake, Al Hashmi Al Hussain, Boualem Khoukhi, Pedro Miguel, Bassam Al Rawi, Jassem Jaber, Hassan Al Haydos, Almoez Ali, Nail Mason, Sebastian Soria, Rayyan Al Ali, Assim Madibo, Abdulaziz Hatem, Issa Lay, Mohammed Manaai, Karim Boudiaf, Lucas Mendes, Tahsin Mohammed, Mubarak Shannan, Homam Al Amin, Yousuf Abdul Razzaq, Mohammed Muntari, and Mohammed Waad.

The Qatari national team will hold a training camp during May that includes two friendly matches: the first against Sudan next Thursday in Doha, followed by travel to Dublin for a second friendly against Ireland on May 28. The final phase of preparations will include a camp in the United States, featuring a third and final friendly against El Salvador in Los Angeles on June 6, in order to reach full readiness for the World Cup. (QNA)