Unfancied Qatar and Ecuador eye best chance for early points
World Cup debutants Qatar and South America's lowest-qualifying nation Ecuador both know Sunday's opener is their best chance for a win in Group A before facing much scarier rivals.
Felix Sanchez Sport News
Hosts Qatar name fully home-based squad for World Cup
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez selected a 26-man squad World Cup on Friday exclusively made up of home-based players led by attacking trio Akram Afif, Almoez Ali and Hassan Al-Haydos. The tournament hosts are playing at the World Cup for the first time and face Ecuador in the opening match on November 20. Qatar will also meet Senegal and the Netherlands in Group A. Sanchez and his players have been staying together in near-lockdown since June while holding training camps in Spain and Austria. It is a similar approach to that of South Korea 20 years ago when the co-hosts made a shock run to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. Sanchez, who learned his trade over 10 years with Barcelona's youth teams, guided Qatar to a 3-1 victory over Japan in the 2019 Asian Cup final for the country's first major international title. "In 2019, it was difficult to imagine that Qatar could win the Asian Cup," Sanchez said recently in an interview with Spanish sports daily Marca. "Obviously, I'm not talking about winning the World cup but to play at a good level against these three opponents is our challenge. Afterwards, it's football and anything can happen."
Attacking pair Ali and Afif spearhead Qatar World Cup squad
:Qatar's all-time top scorer Almoez Ali and Akram Afif are set to lead the attack for the World Cup hosts after coach Felix Sanchez named his 26-man squad for the tournament on Friday.
Qatar World Cup squad
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez named his 26-man squad for the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 World Cup on Friday. Hosts Qatar are in Group A alongside Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands.
Soccer-World Cup the test of Qatar's expensive bid to develop homegrown talent
DOHA : When Qatar play Ecuador in the World Cup showpiece opener on Nov. 20, an 18-year, billion dollar national project to build a respectable - and possibly competitive - national squad will be put to the test.
Two Months From World Cup, Qatar Emerge From Training Lockdown
Qatar's World Cup team will emerge from four months in near-lockdown on Friday to take on Canada with most of their fans nervously watching from afar. All their games since June 2 have been behind closed doors and the Qatar Football Association has even kept sponsors away from training camps in Spain and Austria as they prepare players for a baptism of fire -- a World Cup debut on home territory -- in 60 days.
World Cup 2022 Group A: Hosts Qatar not there to make up the numbers
Tournament hosts Qatar are appearing at their maiden World Cup as 12 years of preparation finally come to fruition.
Canada bests Puerto Rico to secure final CONCACAF berth for U17 Women's World Cup
Anna Hauer and Amanda Allen scored two minutes apart early in the second half Sunday as Canada qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Puerto Rico in the third-place game at the CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.