News
SAT 13.08.2016
- Qatar are currently coached by Jose Daniel Carreño. The Uruguayan was appointed in 2015 with the mission of leading the country to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Carreño arrived in the Middle East after managing major South American clubs such as Montevideo Wanderers and Nacional in his homeland and Deportivo Cali in Colombia. Before taking the reins of the Qatari national team, he had stints at the helm of Doha outfit Al-Arabi and Saudi giants Al-Nassr.
- The links between Uruguay and the Qatari national team stretch beyond the dugout. One of the team's biggest stars is Sebastian Soria, a striker of Uruguayan origin who has scored more than 30 goals for his adopted nation. The 32-year-old has spent the majority of his career in Qatar, plying his trade for Al-Gharafa, Qatar SC, Lekhwiya and Al-Rayyan, and has shone both internationally and domestically, winning four Qatar Stars League titles (2005, 2014, 2015 and 2016) and netting more than 150 times in the competition.
All set for #LaLigaWorld!
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) August 12, 2016
The Qatar national team are gearing up to face @RealBetis_en pic.twitter.com/0irfaRyBAX
- Qatar's present goal is plain and simple: to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. They have never featured in the finals of the senior global showpiece and are intent on changing that sooner rather than later – if they fail to make it to Russia, they are guaranteed to be involved in 2022, since they will be staging the event. The Qataris have enjoyed a fair amount of success at regional level, triumphing in the Gulf Cup of Nations in 1992, 2004 and 2014 and tasting glory in the 2014 West Asian Football Federation Championship, in addition to gracing the Asian Cup on no fewer than nine occasions. At the time of writing they sit 80th in the FIFA rankings, in which they peaked at 51st back in 1993.
- LaLiga is represented in the Qatar squad in the shape of starlet Akram Afif, who is at R. Sporting on loan from Villarreal CF. The 19-year-old forward, one of the brightest prospects in Qatari football, started his career at the Aspire Academy prior to continuing his education with Al-Sadd. In 2012 he spent some time in the youth set-up at FC Sevilla, before enjoying a similar spell at the Yellow Submarine. In 2015 he played for Eupen in the Belgian second tier, the Proximus League, and just a few weeks ago he was signed on a permanent basis by Villarreal, who then farmed him out to Sporting. If he is selected by the Asturians this term, he will become the first player from Qatar to appear in LaLiga. Furthermore, despite his tender years, Afif has already made his full international debut and opened his account for his country, scoring and setting up a goal in the 15-0 thrashing of Bhutan in a World Cup qualifier in September 2015, which was Qatar's biggest ever victory.
- There is an ever-increasing Spanish influence in Qatar's national-team set-up. For instance, the Spaniard Felix Sanchez is in charge of the Qatari Under-20s, a job he has been doing since 2013, and he also came close to guiding the Under-23s to this year's Olympic Games, only for them to be edged out by Iraq in the third-place playoff at the 2016 AFC Under-23 Championship, with a spot in Rio on the line. Another connection between Spain and the Middle Eastern country's international football scene is provided by the three Qatar Under-20 players who are currently based in Spain: Tameen Al Muhaza, Assim Madibo and Sultan Al Brake, who are all at third-division (Segunda B) outfit Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa. Their presence is down to the fact that the club was taken over by the Aspire Academy to serve as a finishing school with the aim of nurturing promising Qatari players, acting as a launchpad for them to embark on careers in Europe and ultimately helping to build a more competitive national team.
© LALIGA - 2016