No freebies this time: Qatar aim to prove they belong on football’s biggest stage

SANTA CLARA (California), June 13 — Four years after their home World Cup went sour, Qatar are not expecting any gifts in North America as they look for a performance to make their fans proud, coach Julen Lopetegui said ahead of their opener against Switzerland.

Qatar lost all three matches in 2022 and scored a solitary goal in an unprecedented low for a tournament host but have since earned some credibility by qualifying under their own steam for North America.

“When we arrived here one year ago more or less, our goal was (qualification). Our dream was that. Inshallah, we achieved it. With the help of this group. They made history,” Lopetegui told reporters on Friday.

“Now we don’t want to stop. We know the kind of opponents we face. We know that we are at the World Cup but we want to follow our dream.

“In the same way, (we’re) thinking that no-one gives us presents here. Now we want to be able to be as competitive as possible, starting with the first match tomorrow.”

Asian champions Qatar target their first World Cup points from a group also featuring Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and following a buildup disrupted by the war in Iran.

The conflict meant friendlies against Serbia and world champions Argentina in March were cancelled, and they kick off the World Cup following a 1–0 loss to Ireland and a 0–0 draw against El Salvador in friendlies against humbler opponents.

There were no complaints from Lopetegui about their preparations before they take on a highly regarded Swiss side, the coach saying Qatar just had to get used to it.

He said there was no use targeting any one player in Saturday’s opener at the home of NFL team San Francisco 49ers, either.

“I think Switzerland is a very, very strong team. Most of them are top players. I don’t want to talk about one, I would have to talk about all of them,” he said.

Lopetegui is coaching a World Cup team for the first time, eight years after being sensationally fired as Spain manager days before the tournament in Russia.

But he had little interest in talking about his past near miss.

“I am not thinking about the past, I am thinking about the present,” he said.

“Because you are building your future.”

Qatar captain Hassan Al Haydos, who was coaxed out of retirement to play a second World Cup, was also hesitant to look back at the 2022 tournament but said that the players had learned from it.

“Of course, we tried to put this experience into practice from a technical perspective, and performance-related perspective,” he said through a translator.

“We tried to share whatever insights and experience we gained.

“We cannot promise our fans anything or any outcomes, but still I can promise that we are going to do our best and come out in a positive way.” — Reuters