In our next team-by-team preview series for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Fantasy game, we turn our attention to Qatar.
The Maroon One are into their second World Cup finals, although their first appearance, in 2022, owed to them being hosts.
Below, we review Qatar’s recent results and key stats, as well as assess their squad and potential best players for the official Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026 game.
SQUAD
THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION
You can see a pattern emerging in the above results list, at least when the meaningful business started in September 2024.
That was when the AFC third-round qualification began, with three groups of six teams competing for the half-dozen automatic qualification spots.
Qatar’s results were strong at home (four wins out of five) but dismal away (no wins in five). They conceded at least two goals in all five third-round away fixtures.
The 2022 World Cup hosts could only muster a fourth-place finish in their six-team group.
The underlying numbers below betray a troubled qualification campaign, particularly defensively:
Above: All 18 teams in the third round of AFC qualification, sorted by xG and xG conceded
Even in the play-offs, they were given a helping hand by all of their matches in their three-team group (also containing Oman and UAE) being played in Qatar.
BIGGEST GOAL THREATS IN QUALIFICATION
Note: The above xG is non-penalty
The usual suspects led the way for goal threat in qualification.
Almoez Ali ($5.3m) and Akram Afif ($5.9m) are names you may remember from 2022, the former being Qatar’s record goalscorer.
Ali scored at least three times as many qualification goals as any other Qatari, two of which came from the spot. He was also comfortably clear in the xG stakes.
It should be said that seven of those strikes did come before the third round, against the likes of Kuwait, India and Afghanistan.
Boualem Koukhi ($3.8m) warrants a mention. The centre-half’s total of 14 shots was inferior to just three of his teammates, all of them forwards, and he’s plundered an eye-catching 21 international goals in 122 appearances.
MOST CREATIVE PLAYERS IN QUALIFYING
While Afif can chip in with the odd goal, his forte is his creativity.
A remarkable total of 67 key passes is at least four times more than any other Qatari player could muster.
He hit double figures for assists, too.
Unquestionably Qatar’s best player, he’s their chief set-piece taker and usual first-choice penalty taker, despite Ali’s brace from the spot against Afghanistan.
Homam Al Amin ($3.6m) deserves a namedrop, too, after carving out 16 key passes from left-back/wing-back.
SINCE QUALIFICATION
Since qualifying, Qatar have contested an unofficial friendly (against Zimbabwe, which they lost) and then humiliatingly bowed out in the group stage of December’s Arab Cup, having failed to win a single match. They scored just once, too, with the injured Ali sorely missed.
March friendlies against Argentina and Serbia were then cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East.
So, far from ideal preparations.
| Date | Opposition | Result | Goalscorers | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 May 2026 | Rep of Ireland (a) | 0-1 | – | – |
| 6 June 2026 | El Salvador (n) | 0-0 | – | – |
There was further grumbling after friendlies in the last fortnight, too, with kickabouts against two nations who didn’t even make it to the 2026 World Cup failing to elicit a win or even a single goal.
WORLD CUP FIXTURES
According to the bookies’ odds, Qatar are, unsurprisingly, the rank outsiders in Group B.
Their most favourable test probably comes in Round 3 but even then, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be odds-on to win that game.
TOP FANTASY PICKS
A dismal run of form (one win in 12), a poor recent record outside of Qatar and an unsettled starting XI make Julen Lopetegui’s troops hard ‘avoids’ in World Cup Fantasy.
For the patriots, the mavericks or the underdog-backers, arch-creator Akram Afif ($5.9m) is the Qatari golden boy – but listed as a forward, he can’t even pick up a compensatory key pass bonus.
Almoez Ali ($5.3m) is the likeliest source of goals (and shots on target bonus) in attack, while defender Boualem Khoukhi ($3.8m) is very capable of popping up with a goal from a corner or even a direct free-kick.
Really, though, you’re better off looking elsewhere.
