Doha, Qatar: Seasoned defender Abdelkarim Hassan returned to Qatar squad as head coach Marquez Lopez named 27 players for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying matches against Kyrgyzstan and Iran.
The two-time Asian champions will host Kyrgyzstan at the Al Thumama Stadium on October 10 before meeting Iran in Mashhad five days later.
Lopez made several changes to the squad that lost 1-3 to United Arab Emirates and drew 2-2 against North Korea in their first two Group A games.
Hassan, who has not played for Qatar since the FIFA World Cup 2022, is the most notable inclusion in the team. The 31-year-old, who is currently playing for Al Wakrah, was handed an indefinite suspension by the Qatar Football Association (QFA) following an altercation with a fan over social media in the aftermath of Al Annabi’s early exit from the World Cup.
The defender earlier this summer also settled a contract dispute with his former club Al Sadd before joining Al Wakrah.
Defender Pedro Miguel, who was injured during Al Sadd’s AFC Champions League Elite match against Iran’s Esteghlal on Monday, is not part of the Lopez’s squad.
Al Ahli goalkeeper Marwan Sherif has replaced Al Wakrah’s Mohammed Al Bakri to join Lopez’s top choice Meshaal Barsham with Saad Al Sheeb and Salah Zakaria also retaining their spots.
Lopez has also included Al Gharafa’s Ahmed Al Ganehi and Al Shahania’s Naif Al Hadhrami in squad for the crucial games with forwards Almoez Ali and Akram Afif set to spearhead the attack.
Al Sadd's Boualem Khoukhi was also recalled while Al Duhail’s Edmilson Junior, who made his international debut against North Korea, is also part of the squad.
With a solitary point, Qatar are just above Kyrgyzstan with Uzbekistan and Iran leading the group with six points each, followed by the UAE (3 points) and North Korea (1 points).
Qatar will be needing points from this month’s games and Lopez had expressed his confidence his team will come back stronger.
“It’s right that we have just one point but we have eight matches left in which we will do our best to achieve wins and earn the World Cup qualification,” the Spaniard had said after a draw against North Korea.
The top two teams from the group will earn direct qualification for the World Cup.
Qatar squad: Marwan Sherif, Meshaal Barsham, Saad Al Sheeb, Salah Zakaria, Abdelrahman Moustafa, Abdullah Al Yazidi, Abdulaziz Hatem, Abdelkarim Hassan, Ahmed Al Ganehi, Ahmed Alaa, Ahmed Fathy, Almahdi Ali, Bassam Al Rawi, Boualem Khoukhi, Lucas Mendez, Jassim Jaber, Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Edmilson Junior, Ibrahim Al Hassan, Ismaeel Mohammad, Mohammed Ayash, Sultan Al Brake, Yousef Abdulrazzaq, Mohammad Waad, Naif Al Hadhrami, Tarek Salman
