Qatar seek World Cup redemption but have they learned the lessons of 2022?

RIYADH: Four years after suffering the ignominy of becoming the first host nation to lose all three group-stage matches at the FIFA World Cup finals, Qatar return to football’s biggest stage in search of redemption.

The Maroons once again line up as continental champions, having retained the AFC Asian Cup in early 2024. Yet despite that success, the expectations surrounding Julen Lopetegui’s side remain muted.

Drawn in the group stage alongside Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina and co-hosts Canada, Qatar start the tournament with one objective: to prove they belong at the World Cup finals.

Few people expected Qatar to upset the apple cart when they hosted the competition in 2022, but after winning their maiden AFC Asian Cup title in 2019, defeating South Korea, Japan and hosts the UAE along the way, expectations rose significantly.

Qatar certainly looked a bright side, with the dominant duo of Akram Afif and Almoez Ali leading the charge alongside a supporting cast that included Hassan Al-Haydos, Abdelkarim Hassan, Abdulaziz Hatem and Bassam Al-Rawi.

Unfortunately for the optimistic Qatari fans, hopes quickly faded when the World Cup kicked off. Defeats to Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands, and only a single goal from the three games, left them rooted to the bottom of the group, with many questioning whether their continental success had simply been a flash in the pan.

Yet despite the poor showing in 2022, just 14 months months later Qatar were crowned champions of Asia for a second-consecutive time, with Afif once again leading the charge.

The reality, however, is that the Asian Cup has never been a true indicator of success on the world stage. South Korea remain Asia’s best-performing team at the World Cup,