The Qatar National Football Team, known as “The Maroons”, represents Qatar in international football competitions and is governed by the Qatar Football Association. They are affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF).
Qatar made its FIFA World Cup debut as the host nation in 2022. Despite the excitement and anticipation surrounding their participation, the team struggled to find form and was eliminated in the group stage, becoming the first host nation in World Cup history to lose all three of its group matches.
However, the Maroons staged an impressive comeback in 2023, successfully defending their AFC Asian Cup title on home soil and reaffirming their status as one of Asia’s top footballing nations.
The story of football in Qatar is deeply intertwined with the country’s rapid transformation during the oil era. The sport was first introduced in the 1940s, following the initial discovery of oil reserves in Dukhan. During this period, oil workers—many of them expatriates—would organize informal football matches, planting the early seeds of the game in the region.
As interest in football grew, the need for a governing body became apparent. This led to the formation of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) in the late 1960s. Just a few years later, in 1970, the QFA became an official member of FIFA, marking the beginning of Qatar’s structured journey into international football.
Qatar has dropped seven spots in the latest FIFA Men’s World Ranking, now sitting at 55th globally with 1,456.5 points.
Qatar National Football Team Roster
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Julen Lopetegui is the current coach, and Akram Afif is the captain of the Qatar Soccer team. Hassan Al-Haydos is the most capped player for the national team with 183 caps and 41 goals.
Almoez Ali is the top goalscorer ( 121 caps with 60 goals), Mansour Muftah (81 caps with 42 goals), and Mubarak Mustafa (106 caps with 41 goals) are in second and third positions in the sequence.
Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Hassan Al-Haydos, Karim Boudiaf, and Boualem Khoukhi are some of the famous soccer players from Qatar. Saad Al-Sheeb is the first-choice goalkeeper for the National team. The team won the Arabian Gulf Cup in 1992, 2004 and 2014.
Here is the Qatar football team’s Squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Current Football Squad of the Qatar National Football Team Players
As of May 14, 2025, the Qatar national football team is playing the upcoming football tournament qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Asian Qualifiers.
Qatar have played with North Korea and Kyrgyzstan in the FIFA World Cup 26 qualifying in March. The team have secured one match against North Korea and lost one match against Kyrgyzstan.
| Jersey No | Player Name | Caps | Goals | Current Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | ||||
| 1 | Saad Al-Sheeb | 79 | 0 | Al-Sadd |
| 21 | Salah Zakaria | 6 | 0 | Al-Duhail |
| 22 | Meshaal Barsham | 47 | 0 | Al-Sadd |
| Mahmud Abunada | 0 | 0 | Al-Arabi | |
| Defenders | ||||
| 2 | Pedro Miguel | 92 | 1 | Al-Sadd |
| 3 | Abdelkarim Hassan | 124 | 15 | Al-Wakrah |
| 4 | Ahmed Suhail | 10 | 0 | Al-Sadd |
| 5 | Tarek Salman | 83 | 0 | Al-Sadd |
| 12 | Lucas Mendes | 18 | 1 | Al-Wakrah |
| 13 | Murad Naji | 2 | 0 | Al-Rayyan |
| 14 | Homam El-Amin | 58 | 3 | Al-Duhail |
| 16 | Boualem Khoukhi | 110 | 19 | Al-Sadd |
| 23 | Abdullah Yousef | 3 | 0 | Al-Gharafa |
| Hazem Shehata | 11 | 1 | Al-Rayyan | |
| Al-Hashmi Al-Hussain | 3 | 0 | Alcorcón | |
| Midfielders | ||||
| 6 | Abdulaziz Hatem | 110 | 11 | Al-Rayyan |
| 8 | Jassem Gaber | 30 | 1 | Al-Arabi |
| 17 | Mostafa Meshaal | 23 | 2 | Al-Sadd |
| Andri Syahputra | 0 | 0 | Al-Khor | |
| Assim Madibo | 43 | 0 | Al-Gharafa | |
| Abdullah Al-Ahrak | 33 | 1 | Al-Duhail | |
| Forwards | ||||
| 7 | Ahmed Alaaeldin | 61 | 7 | Al-Arabi |
| 9 | Edmilson Junior | 4 | 0 | Al-Duhail |
| 10 | Akram Afif (C) | 113 | 38 | Al-Sadd |
| 11 | Yusuf Abdurisag | 36 | 3 | Al-Sadd |
| 15 | Ahmed Al-Rawi | 8 | 3 | Al-Rayyan |
| 18 | Mohamed Surag | 0 | 0 | Al-Rayyan |
| 19 | Ahmed Al Ganehi | 9 | 1 | Al-Gharafa |
| Almoez Ali | 110 | 55 | Al-Duhail | |
| Mohammed Muntari | 61 | 15 | Al-Gharafa | |
Qatar Full Squad for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification
Here is the Qatar National team’s final squad in World Cup Qualification, which will be selected for the next two matches. Qatar vs Iran, and Uzbekistan vs Qatar. Currently, the team is 3rd in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers Points Table. Here is Qatar’s football team 2025 for the current schedule-
Currently, Qatar is positioned third or fourth in its group. Securing favourable results in the remaining matches is essential for advancing to the fourth round of the AFC qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- Goalkeepers: Meshaal Barsham, Salah Zakaria
- Defenders: Tarek Salman, Boualem Khoukhi, Jassem Gaber
- Midfielders: Assim Madibo, Abdulaziz Hatem
- Forwards: Akram Afif, Almoez Ali
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First round Qatar Performance
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 | +15 | 16 |
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third round Qatar Performance
| Pos | Team | Pld | Win | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Qatar | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 21 | +5 | 10 |
The Qatar national team has two matches remaining in the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualifiers. Currently holding third or fourth place in the group standings, Qatar remains in contention to advance to the fourth round of qualification.
Qatar National Football Team Information
| Qatar National Soccer Team Information | |
|---|---|
| Captain | Akram Afif |
| FIFA code | QTA |
| FIFA Current Ranking | 55th (14 May 2025) |
| Top Score | Almoez Ali (60) |
| Head coach | Julen Lopetegui |
| Appearance | World Cup: 1 time (2022) – Group Stage Asian Cup: 12 times – Champions (2019, 2023) Arab Cup: 3 times – Runners-up (1998) Gold Cup: 2 times – Semi-finals (2021) Copa América: 1 time (2019) – Group Stage |
Qatar National Football Team Recent Achievements
- AFC Asian Cup Champions: 2019, 2023
- Arabian Gulf Cup Champions: 1992, 2004, 2014
2025 Qatar National Football Team Match Schedule
Here are the upcoming match schedule and the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification schedule of Qatar.
| S.R | Teams | Score | Time/Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification | ||||
| 1 | Afghanistan vs Qatar | 0–0 | 6 June | |
| 2 | Qatar vs India | 2–1 | 10 June | |
| 3 | Qatar vs UAE | 1–3 | 5 September | |
| 4 | North Korea vs Qatar | 2–2 | 10 September | |
| 5 | Qatar vs Kyrgyzstan | 3-1 | 10 October | |
| 6 | Iran vs Qatar | 4-1 | 15 October | |
| 7 | Qatar vs Uzbekistan | 3–2 | 14 November | |
| 8 | UAE vs Qatar | 5–0 | 19 November | |
| 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Fixtures | ||||
| 9 | Qatar vs North Korea | 5-1 | 20 March 2025 | |
| 10 | Kyrgyzstan vs Qatar | 3-1 | 25 March 2025 | |
| 11 | Qatar vs Iran | 6 June 2025 | ||
| 12 | Uzbekistan vs Qatar | 10 June 2025 | ||
Most capped Players
| S. No | Name | Caps (Goals) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hassan Al-Haydos (R) | 183 (41) |
| 2 | Abdelkarim Hassan | 135 (15) |
| 3 | Abdulaziz Hatem | 126 (12) |
| 4 | Sebastián Soria (R) | 123 (39) |
| 5 | Karim Boudiaf | 122 (7) |
Most Top Goalscorer Players
Almoez Ali is Qatar’s all-time top scorer with 60 goals in 121 Caps.
| S. No | Name | Goals(Caps ) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Almoez Ali | 60(121) |
| 2 | Mansour Muftah (R) | 42(81) |
| 3 | Mubarak Mustafa (R) | 41(106) |
| 4 | Hassan Al-Haydos (R) | 41(183) |
| 5 | Akram Afif (R) | 39(121) |
