Qatar

Qatar enter World Cup 2026 in Group B, where the early tests are Canada, Switzerland, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Qatar have never won the World Cup and made their finals debut as 2022 hosts, where they exited in the group stage. That experience still matters, because it gave the squad a first full view of the tournament speed. The current squad is shaped around Almoez Ali, Akram Afif, and Hassan Al-Haydos, a core that gives the team recognizable quality in the moments that usually decide group-stage matches: set pieces, transition attacks, and pressure around the box.

For this tournament, the assignment is both tactical and psychological: start quickly, protect the middle of the pitch, and make the group feel uncomfortable before the knockout picture forms. Group B asks Qatar to be compact and opportunistic. Afif and Ali can create moments, but the campaign will depend on whether the defensive shape holds against more physically varied opponents. If Qatar can turn its best individual stretches into a full 90-minute platform, the campaign has room to grow beyond a simple participation story.