Qatar head coach Luis Garcia speaks to players during a training session.
Doha, Qatar: Qatar are gearing up for crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against North Korea and Kyrgyzstan as they look to bounce back in their Group A campaign.
The Asian champions will host North Korea at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday for their seventh match in the group before travelling to Bishkek to face Kyrgyzstan five days later.
In their opening leg against these two teams, Qatar played to a 2-2 draw against North Korea and secured a 3-1 victory over Kyrgyzstan.
Following these two important qualifying matches, Qatar will wrap up their group campaign with games against Iran on June 5 and Uzbekistan on June 10.
Al Annabi’s goal is to secure victories in all four remaining matches to boost their chances of automatic qualification for the World Cup. The top two teams from each group in the Asian qualifiers will secure direct spots, while third and fourth place will enter additional qualifying stages.
Ahmed Suhail (left) and Akram Afif during a training session at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Qatar, who lost three games so far, currently sit fourth in the group with seven points from two wins and a draw. They are trailing leaders Iran by nine points and second-placed Uzbekistan by six. The United Arab Emirates are in third place with 10 points. The team’s training camp kicked off at Khalifa International Stadium on Friday, a day after head coach Luis Garcia named a 30-player preliminary squad for the two upcoming matches.
The game against North Korea will be the first World Cup qualifying game for Garcia as Qatar’s head coach after he led the side in the Arabian Gulf Cup, replacing coach Marquez Lopez.
Garcia has called up several senior players for the qualifiers who were previously dropped for the Gulf Cup, including Al Sadd’s Boualem Khoukhi, Abdelkarim Hassan of Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan’s Abdulaziz Hatem. Qatar will also benefit from the return of injured players Pedro Miguel and Edmilson Junior, with key attackers Akram Afif and Almoez Ali set to lead the team’s offense.
The squad will continue their preparations in Doha before taking on North Korea.
Injured Al Sheeb ruled out
Meanwhile, Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb has been ruled out for Qatar’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers after sustaining a calf injury during a training session.
"After undergoing necessary medical tests, it was determined that Al Sheeb will require a recovery period of approximately three to four weeks," the Qatar Football Association confirmed in a statement yesterday.
As a result, head coach Luis Garcia has called up Al Duhail goalkeeper Shehab Al Laithi to replace Al Sheeb in preliminary for the two matches.
