As the clock ticks down to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, we understand that many know very little about the host, Qatar's football journey to the tourney.
Main Stand will walk you through from how the Gulf state made the leaps they did in the world of football, be it clinching the Asian Championship title or moving to top 100 in the world rankings, to their World Cup aspiration.
Pre-World Cup
From the 1990s on, Qatar have been minnows in Asian football. Although they made it to the AFC Asian Cup in the quarter-finals, they never secured a title, nor could they qualify for the final round of qualifiers in the World Cup.
But Qatar have money, being one of the world's wealthiest countries. So with all the cash at its disposal, Qatar put tremendous effort into strengthening its football team to be a top team in Asia. Also, Qatar's primary goal is to be the best nation in the Middle East.
In 2004, Qatar's ruling family was unsatisfied with the country's sports development. In the previous 15 years, the country was known for none of the world's sports, despite substantial financial support for trial and error.
In mid-2004, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, asked his son Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to launch a mega master development plan to advance Qatar's sport under US$1.4b Aspire Academy.
As Qatar were a small country and the vast majority of Qatari people's careers were not sports related, the Aspire Academy aimed at cultivating talents, whether they were born-and-raised Qatari or not.
They explored every inch of the world, from Africa and South America to Asia, to seek prodigious children and provide them with education and sports training sessions.
Each year, the Aspire selects the cream of the crop among 500,000-600,000 candidates to join the program, offering them accommodation, education, sports science and veteran sports experts. That's how Qatar successfully built the best football team in their history, even before they won a bid to hold the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
From the training ground to an Asian championship
Having proceeded with the Aspire Academy for only six years, Qatar expected to achieve a bigger goal. Instead, the nation's selection to host the 2022 World Cup prompted negative criticism. Moreover, as Qatar have never qualified for the final round of the qualifiers (and the 2022 World Cup offer Qatar a chance to first compete in the final round), bribery scandals in the bidding process erupted among people.
Loads of insulting comments ignited the Al Thani family's aspiration to prove that what Qatar have is not only wealth but also intelligence. Given an opportunity to shine at the international level, Qatar must do their best to gain global acceptance.
Qatar hired Félix Sánchez, a former FC Barcelona youth head coach, to manage the Qatar national football team. He first worked in Qatar in 2006 and was selected to oversee the U-16, U-19 and U-23 teams and is currently coaching the senior team.
"The small population conditions us. We start working with (youngsters born in) each calendar year, but it isn't like Spain here, where if some players aren't making it in a year, you pick others. Here there aren't anymore. So you have to see how they progress," Félix told local media AS, citing that he is required to manage the junior teams because the size of the population and the talent pool in the tiny Gulf state of Qatar are small.
Félix is not only a manager, but also a sporting director in charge of laying Qatar's football foundation.
Off the pitch, he demanded the Qatar Football Association to seek European club to support Qatari next generation footballers. As a result, the ruling family of Qatar decided to take over Belgian football side Eupen and the Spanish third-division club Cultural Leonesa.
That resulted in many footballers from the Qatar national squad, like Almoez Ali, Akram Afif, Ahmed Moein and Ahmed Al Saadi, to play football in foreign clubs.
Félix support Qatari football leagues in signing world-class players so that the football players whose performance is too slow to play on foreign soil will have a chance to play with the world's top-notch players.
That's why Raúl González, Xavier Hernández, Wesley Sneijder, Juninho Pernambucano and many more played for Qatari clubs.
They developed the structure and playing system for 12 years before the 2022 World Cup. And in the end, Qatar won the 2019 Asian Cup.
However, it was not an easy route to the title.
Qatar were grouped with rivals Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and also North Korea. In group E.
The group witnessed Qatar and Saudi Arabia qualify for the round of 16. In the decisive match for first place, Qatar beat Saudi Arabia 2–0, thanks to a brace by Almoez Ali. Qatar began their campaign with a comfortable 2–0 win over Lebanon, before beating North Korea 6–0, sealing their place in the knockout stage.
They managed to earn nine points, scoring 10 goals with all clean sheets.
In the knock-out phase, Qatar effortlessly defeated Iraq 1-0. They then faced a formidable South Korea in the quarter-final, beating them 1-0.
In the semi-final, Qatar strolled past the United Arab Emirates 4-0 before their final triumph over Japan, beating the Rising Sun 3-1 win, earning their first Asian Cup.
Many Asians witnessed how Qatar footballers leveled up over the years, equipping themselves with personal skills and cognitive abilities.
The Qatar national football team embraced modern football tactic and played incredibly. On the pitch, there is no doubt that Qatar are an amazing team now.
Those that dismissed Qatar as a football nation in 2010 and haven’t been following their fortunes since may be in for a surprise in November 2022.
Although some may argue on how their import or naturalized players played a part for the team’s rise, the talent at Qatar’s disposal too played an important factor.
Throughout the tournament, Almoez Ali scored nine goals, outnumbering Sardar Azmoun, Takumi Minamino, Wǔ Lěi and Eldor Shomurodov.
For this reason, Qatar’s Asian Cup squad is viewed as a role model for generations to cultivate excellent players for the 2022 World Cup.
The final stretch
Since the inception of the Aspire Academy, Qatar have exceeded their expectations. Before the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, it was said that Qatar relied on their financial power to win a bid to host the high-profile tournament.
However, in the Gulf country's defense, the grand project to host the World Cup rolled on by hiring highly experienced coaches to manage all national football teams. Also, Qatar have applied tactics from the world's top teams to the national team.
The above was initiated to improve the nation on and off the pitch, resulting in Qatar raking in 48th place on the FIFA world ranking.
Considering the above, Qatar have made giant strides in only 12 years.
Now, Qatar have achieved their first goal. But the next one is demanding – to shine in one of the world's most prestigious events as the host nation.
Qatar's group consists of Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands in the group stage, which is not a mission impossible. Although these teams are all outstanding, Qatar highly believe they can cruise the team to win the group stage, at least.
Mansoor Al Ansari, General Secretary of the Qatar Football Association, revealed that as Qatar are on the verge of competing in the tournament, more financial assistance by organizations, the ruling family and Qataris have been drawn. Therefore, all the national football team can do is do their best. According to Mansoor Al Ansari, ambition is key to their success in qualifying for the World Cup.
Qatar's long-term plan finally bore fruit. Their star players that have long trained for the World Cup, have become the team's mainstays, all of whom are below 25 on average. Yet, despite their young ages, they are viewed as veterans in international matches.
For instance, Al Sadd player Akram Afif, who once played for Villarreal, Eupen and Sporting Gijón, has been selected to the national squad in a total of 85 games. However, based on the number of caps, it is hard to believe he is only 24. And 31-year-old Captain Hassan Al-Haydos has played in 165 national games.
Evidenced by close-knit and long-standing relationships among the players, teamwork are Qatar national football team's perk. Félix Sánchez said that the team's philosophy is teamwork and the ability to perceive the game. As a result, they believe their offense and defense modern football tactics will work, albeit without star players.
"High pressure and intensity, miserly defending and knowing when to kill the game at the right time," Félix Sánchez said, added that long-time work experience among the footballers and the coach will be a significant contributor to Qatar's success in the international tournament.
"This is a group of players I have known for a long time and, although we have limitations — we are a tiny country with 500,000 people — with hard work, you can get some results."
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is what the future holds. It is unforeseeable. But what is uncertain is that Qatar will not return from the staggering investment empty-handed. They have leveled up and are gearing up for the biggest football tournament.
The tiny Gulf state of Qatar are ready to pour vast amounts of money into improving its football to secure a top place in the world's standings.
Should they not win the final, it doesn’t mean there will be no more chances. Qatar have built a solid foundation and the way the team is headed is only forward.
Sources
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/32147203
https://www.gulf-times.com/story/412779/We-have-achieved-our-dream-says-Felix
https://baomoi.com/hlv-felix-sanchez-u23-duoc-to-chuc-tot-va-rat-ky-luat/c/24710555.epi
https://baomoi.com/hlv-felix-sanchez-u23-duoc-to-chuc-tot-va-rat-ky-luat/c/24710555.epi
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/nov/22/xavi-qatar-four-years-until-world-cup
http://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/3700843/qatars-unknown-players-may-not-be-the-2022-world-cup-flops-theyre-expected-to-be
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-football-nfl-trump-football/trump-says-he-wouldnt-steer-son-toward-football-idUSKCN1PS0JB
https://in.reuters.com/article/soccer-asiancup-final-preview/soccer-qatar-wont-be-distracted-from-final-by-eligibility-row-coach-idINKCN1PP13U
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/14/qatar-world-cup-200-billion-dollar-gamble
https://www.euronews.com/2022/09/01/fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-can-the-hosts-reach-the-knockout-stages
