TheQatar national football team (Arabic:منتخب قطر لكرة القدم), nicknamed "The Maroons", representsQatar in internationalfootball, and is controlled by theQatar Football Association, which is affiliated with theAsian Football Confederation (AFC) and comes under the global jurisdiction of world football’s governing bodyFIFA. They play their home games atJassim bin Hamad Stadium. The latter is considered the home stadium.[5]
Qatar hosted the2022 FIFA World Cup and therefore qualified automatically for what was their first appearance in the event. Amidst the controversy, it was the first time anArab nation hosted the competition.[6] On 25 November 2022, Qatar were the first team to be eliminated from the World Cup; subsequently, they became the worst performing host nation in the history of the FIFA World Cup, losing every game. On 14 October 2025, Qatar qualified directly for the2026 FIFA World Cup after a 2–1 victory over the United Arab Emirates.[7]
Football was brought toQatar during a time which coincided with initial discovery of oil reserves inDukhan in 1940.[11] By 1948, expatriate oil workers from countries such asIndia, and other Arabian nations. The first documented teams in Qatar was a team formed for the Northern Arab Region, and also a team formed the near the Al-Khatia area of Dukhan.[12] The first tournament in the region was the "Hazel Dayne Cup" where clubs likeAl-Najah, Al-Shorta, Al-Tahrir, and Al-Maaref participated in, Another tournament that followed was the "Izz al-Din Championship" by the Qatar Oil Company, which was established in 1951. In the late 1950s, the name was eventually changed to the "Pukett Cup".[13]
With the growing interest in football, TheQatar Football Association (QFA) was established in 1960, and the QFA joinedFIFA in 1963.[14] Simultaneously during this period, theBahrain Football Association were drawing up plans for the establishment of a regional football competition within theGCC and Qatari officials were involved with the collaboration of this proposal.[15] The plans came to fruition and in March of 1970, when theArabian Gulf Cup was inaugurated.[16]
The Qatar national team played its first official match on 27 March 1970 against hostsBahrain in the1970 Gulf Cup, losing 1–2 with Mubarak Faraj scoring the sole goal for Qatar.[17] The newly formed Qatar side gave underwhelming performances in the tournament, coming in last place with a single point, with the highlight of their tournament being a 1–1 draw with rivalsSaudi Arabia in their final match, and playerKhaled Ballan winning the Best Player of the Tournament.[18]
In 1972, the next edition of the1972 Gulf Cup, Qatar again finished last place after suffering 3 straight defeats.[19] The next tournament in1974 proved to be somewhat of a breakthrough for the Qataris as they achieved their first triumph in international football with a 4–0 victory overOman. The team lost toSaudi Arabia in the semi-finals, where they achieved a 3rd place finish in the tournament, after emerging victorious in apenalty shoot-out against theUnited Arab Emirates, Qatari playerMohammed Ghanim won the Best Player of the Tournament award.[20]
Qatar debuted for their first AFC Asian Cup in the1980 AFC Asian Cup under Brazillian head coachEvaristo. They had qualified for the tournament after topping a relatively easy group composing ofBangladesh andAfghanistan. In the main tournament, Qatar was unsuccessful in advancing to the knockout stage, making an early exit from the competition with two defeats, one draw and one win.[23]
In 1984, Qatar narrowly lost toIraq in the finals of the1984 Gulf Cup, nonetheless they were named runners-up, one of their most impressive achievements until their1992 Gulf Cup.[24]
They failed to make it out of the preliminary stages of the1982 and1986 FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds. However, the team qualified for both the1984 and1988 editions of the Asian Cup. They fell short of qualifying for the semi-finals of the1984 tournament, withSaudi Arabia'sMohaisen Al-Jam'an's 88th-minute goal againstKuwait, ensuring a semi-final position for both teams. They also missed out on a semi-final place in1988, however, they notably defeatedJapan by a score of 3–0.[25]
Qatar arguably reached its peak in the 1990s, attaining aFIFA rating of (53) in August 1993.[26] Qatar started off with an emphatic qualifying campaign for the1990 FIFA World Cup, finishing at the top of their group. However they couldn't advance in the tournament, due to finishing below theUnited Arab Emirates andSouth Korea in the final round of the qualifiers.
In the1990 Gulf Cup, the national team once again finished runners-up asKuwait won the final two matches of the tournament.[27]
In 1992, they won the1992 Gulf Cup on home soil for the first time under the leadership of Sebastião Lapola, despite a 1–0 loss againstSaudi Arabia in their final game.[28]Mubarak Mustafa, won both the top scorer and man of the tournament awards.[29] They were also named runners-up in the1996 Gulf Cup.
Qatar reached the Asian Zone's final qualifying round for the1998 FIFA World Cup. After wins against China and Iran, they played their last match againstSaudi Arabia, where a victory would have earned qualification. However, they lost out as Saudi Arabia won 1–0 to reach the finals.
As1998 Arab Cup hosts, they finished runners-up to Saudi Arabia.[30]
They made it to the quarter-finals of the2000 AFC Asian Cup despite finishing 3rd in their group, but lost toChina in their quarter-final confrontation.[31]
The job of coaching the team in qualifying for the2010 FIFA World Cup fell to Uruguayan head coachJorge Fossati, who led the team throughout the first and second AFC rounds up to the third round. After leaving them at the top of their group with only two played matches, Fossati had to undergo stomach surgery. Subsequently, the Qatar Football Association ended their cooperation with him in September 2008, as the QFA claimed he needed too long to recover from surgery.[32]Bruno Metsu was called up for the job, but Qatar failed to qualify after finishing fourth in their qualifying group.
In 2011, as hosts of the2011 AFC Asian Cup, they advanced to the quarter-finals. They succumbed to a late 2–3 defeat to eventual championsJapan after a goal was scored byMasahiko Inoha in the 89th minute.
Also, as hosts, they went on to win the2013 WAFF Championship after defeatingJordan 2–0 in the final. The competition was made up primarily of youth and reserve teams, of which Qatar's was the latter.[33]Djamel Belmadi, the head coach of the B team, replacedFahad Thani as the head coach of the senior team as a result of the team's positive performances. 10 months later, Djamel Belmadi led Qatar to gold in the2014 Gulf Cup. They advanced from the group stages after three draws, going on to defeatOman 3–1 in the semi-final, and were victorious in the final againstSaudi Arabia, who was playing in front of a home crowd, by a margin of 2–1.[34]
Despite winning the Gulf Cup and finishing the year 2014 with only one defeat, Qatar showed poor form in the2015 AFC Asian Cup. Qatar was defeated 1–4 by theUnited Arab Emirates in their opener. This was continued with a 0–1 loss toIran and 1–2 toBahrain. Qatar was eliminated in the group stages with no points and placed 4th in Group C.
Qatar's campaign inqualifying for the2018 FIFA World Cup inRussia was a surprise. Their start in thesecond round of FIFA World Cup qualifying in theAFC was nearly perfect, with seven wins and only one loss. However, their success in the second round didn't follow them to thethird round. Qatar finished bottom of their group, ensuring they would play their first World Cup match on home soil in 2022, the first team to do so sinceItaly in1934.
Qatar continued its poor form in the2017 Gulf Cup, which was hosted byKuwait. Qatar opened the tournament with a 4–0 win againstYemen, but that was followed by a 1–2 loss toIraq and an unconvincing 1–1 draw to Bahrain. Qatar took third place in Group B with four points and was eliminated in the group stage of the competition, which was considered an upsetting of the tournament, especially after winning the 2014 edition.
Qatar's players celebrating the country's first-ever Asian Cup title in2019.
However, Qatar had an excellent campaign at the2019 AFC Asian Cup. Their opener saw them defeatLebanon 2–0. This was followed by a 6–0 thrashing ofNorth Korea and a 2–0 win against three-time champions Saudi Arabia, which sealed the team getting first place in thegroup. They had a 1–0 win against Iraq in theRound of 16 and a late win against defending runners-upSouth Korea in thequarter-finals, seeing them through to thesemi-finals for the first time ever, where they defeated the hosts United Arab Emirates 4–0 to set up a final against 4-time winners Japan. Qatar ended up winning thefinal 3–1 over Japan, marking their first-ever major tournament title in their history, and capping off one of the most improbable Asian Cup runs in the tournament's history, especially since they conceded only one goal in all their games.[35]
Qatar was invited to the2019 Copa América. They were placed inGroup B withColombia,Argentina andParaguay. Their first game was against Paraguay where they came back from a 2–0 deficit to tie it 2–2 but marked for the first time Qatar suffered more than one goal in any major competition since winning the Asian Cup in the UAE.[36] It was followed by a 0–1 loss to Colombia, ending the team's undefeated streak in any major competition to eight.[37] A 0–2 loss to Argentina meant Qatar took the last place in Group B with a single point and was eliminated in the group stage of the competition.[38]
Preparation for the FIFA World Cup as host: 2020–present
Despite Qatar having automatic qualification for the 2022 World Cup as hosts, they had to play the AFC qualifiers in the second round as part of it also acting as qualification for the2023 AFC Asian Cup and won 7 of 8 games, conceding only one goal. Qatar was invited for the first time to the2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They played inGroup D withHonduras,Panama andGrenada.[39] In December 2020,UEFA invited Qatar to playfriendlies against the teams inGroup A of the 2022 World Cup qualifying group –Azerbaijan,Luxembourg,Portugal, theRepublic of Ireland andSerbia – as five teams in one group means one team will not be playing on any given match day. These friendlies did not count in the qualifying group standings. Qatar played their "home" matches in Europe in order to allow short travel times for their opponents.[40][41]
Qatar opening match starting line-up against Ecuador at the2022 FIFA World Cup.
In the2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Qatar claimed 7 points inGroup D. Their debut was againstPanama with a 3–3 draw, ensuring them their first point. This was followed by a 4–0 victory overGrenada and a 2–0 win overHonduras ensuring a quarter-final place where they would faceEl Salvador, ultimately securing a semi-final place against theUnited States with a 3–2 win. However, against the hosts with its squad made up of the majority ofMLS players, Qatar failed to find the way to the net, in spite of having a penalty in the 60th minute, ultimately conceding a late goal fromGyasi Zardes to end Qatar's campaign with a 1–0 loss. In the2021 FIFA Arab Cup, Qatar won all of its group-stage matches and facedUAE, winning 5–0. They lost 2–1 in the semi-final againstAlgeria,[42] eventually placing 3rd.[43]
Despite the very successful performance of Qatar in various major tournaments, the2022 FIFA World Cup held at home proved to be a nightmare for the Qataris. Being automatically drawn into theGroup A as hosts, Qatar started with a 0–2 loss toEcuador in the opening match, conceding two goals in the first half fromEnner Valencia, making Qatar the first host country to lose their opening game.[44] The situation did not improve for the Qataris in their second meeting with Senegal, when the Africans beat the Qataris 3–1 to condemn the hosts to an early World Cup exit, becoming the second host country afterSouth Africa, the2010 FIFA World Cup hosts, to have such an unwanted record (although they were eliminated only on inferior goal differences toMexico after three matches); they became the first host team to be eliminated after two group games and guaranteed to be the worst-host ever, although Ghanaian-bornMohammed Muntari became Qatar's first World Cup scorer in this game.[45][46][47] With Qatar's elimination confirmed, the hosts then fell to the Netherlands 0–2, making an unwanted record as the first hosts to score the fewest goals (1), the first to lose all three group games, and the lowest-ranked team in the tournament (ranked 32nd).[48][49]
14 months later, they would redeem themselves at the2023 AFC Asian Cup, also held at home. The Maroons defeatedLebanon 3–0 to start off their campaign, and they entered the round of 16 as group winners following 2 other successes, all without conceding a goal. They had to overcomePalestine (2–1) and thenUzbekistan in the next round (1–1 a.e.t., 3 p.s.o. to 2) to reach the last four, but without convincing. After defeatingIran narrowly in a 3–2 dramatic semifinal match, they would face off againstJordan in the final, where a penalty hat-trick byAkram Afif helped Qatar defeatJordan 3–1 to clinch their second successiveAFC Asian Cup, becoming the first team sinceJapan to successfully defend their title.[50][51][52]
Qatar wears all-maroon as their home colours and all-white colours as an away kit. Their first manufacturer wasUmbro from 1980 to 1984. All Qatar kits are currently manufactured byAdidas.[55]
Qatar has a major rivalry againstBahrain due to historical tension between the two countries. With 39 matches played, the overall record favours Bahrain, who won 11 matches, lost 8, and tied 19. From 2004 until 2021, Qatar suffered a winless streak over Bahrain with six defeats and ten draws before finally registering a win in the2021 FIFA Arab Cup.
The rivalry with United Arab Emirates is a competitive one in theArabian Gulf Cup meeting on multiple occasions, due to the 2017–2021Qatar diplomatic crisis, increasing tensions had been witnessed, with the captain of UAE under-19 youth team refusing to shake hands with Qatar's youth captain in2018 AFC U-19 Championship held in Indonesia; in this tournament, the UAE beat Qatar 2–1 but still crashed out from the group stage while Qatar would recover to qualify for the2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[58] As of 2020, Qatar and UAE have played 31 official matches, most of which was held competitively in theArabian Gulf Cup, it started off with the United Arab Emirates beating Qatar 1–0. They only played 2 friendly games and the last friendly was held in 2011 which ended with an Emirati victory. In the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, hosted by the UAE, Qatar overran the UAE for the first time since 2001 with a result of 4–0, with heavy tensions occurring between the two teams and Emirati supporters cheering anti-Qatari chants.[59]
Qatar has a major rivalry againstSaudi Arabia due to historical tension between the two countries and the 2017–2021Qatar diplomatic crisis. Qatar has an overall negative record against Saudi Arabia; with 41 matches played, Qatar has won 8 matches, lost 17, and tied 16.
While it is reasonably common for footballers to represent national teams other than their birth nations,[61] the nature and extent of the practice for the Qatari team have been the subject of scrutiny and criticism at various points during the 21st century. In the early 1970s, shortly after the formation of the national team, theQFA revealed that it had naturalized its first players in a February 1976 telegram sent to FIFA: Ezzuldin Osman of Sudan, Hassan Mukhtar of Egypt and Ryad Murad of Lebanon. This practice of naturalizing Arabic-speaking foreigners to compete for the national team continued throughout the 20th century, albeit at a relatively slow rate.[62] In 2004, FIFA cited the intention of three Brazilian players –Aílton,Dedé andLeandro – to play for the Qatar national team as the immediate trigger to their decision to tighten eligibility rules to ensure players have ties to the country they represent.[63][64]
While Qatari authorities described it as a humanitarian effort and a way to provide competition for native Qatari players, critics claimed that it was merely another exploitative way of acquiring naturalized players,[65] withVice linking it to human rights abuses and thekafala system.[66] TheInternational Labour Organization (ILO) and Qatar announced the removal of the Kafala on 12 December 2016; the law came into effect in 2018.[67] The reform took place between UN's International labor organization and the state of Qatar and was proven to be the part of many said assurances that nation has claimed for the 2022 World Cup. Though claimed by independent bodies of Qatar foundering to achieve the same, both sides had agreed to revise previous acts that had been taken. To make this all possible, the hosting country declared to pay compensation for the deaths of its migrant workers on 12 August 2022.[68]
Job changes between September 2020 and March 2022, the establishment of a nondiscriminatory wage system for all workers in March 2021, and workers' funds and insurance policies in the workplace are all data that showcased the functioning of the state for its workers.[69]
In the 2015 friendly againstAlgeria, six of the eleven players in the starting team were born outside of Qatar.[70] Then-president of FIFA,Sepp Blatter, warned Qatar that FIFA would monitor their player selection to ensure that they were not relying too heavily on naturalised players. He made comparisons to theQatar men's national handball team, referring to the team's selection for the2015 World Men's Handball Championship as an "absurdity".[71] The following year, naturalized players formed the backbone of the team and were sufficiently integral that head coachJorge Fossati threatened to resign if they were removed.[72][73]
The Gulf Cup has been played on a bi-annual basis since 1970. The tournament has changed since the first edition from a round-robin basis to a knockout tournament in the latter years. Notably, the 2000 edition was cancelled and the 2003 and 2010 were moved due to congested fixture lists with other tournaments, such as theAsian Cup.
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