Qatar debuts in World Cups with Spanish coach and Xavi’s helping hand

For 12 years, since Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup, the focus has been on how the country prepared to host the tournament. The exact amount is not confirmed, but the estimate is that around US$ 200 billion (R$ 1.06 trillion, at the current price) have been invested in infrastructure works, in stadiums and in the construction of Lusail, a new neighboring city. to the capital Doha — with multiple complaints about the precarious conditions of the workers.

A little over two months before the start of the competition, the question also becomes what to expect on the field of the local team. Which has in Xavi, a historic player for Barcelona and today coach of the Catalan team itself, one of his influences.

Qatar has never participated in the World Cup and has little tradition in football, even in the Middle East and in the Asian qualifiers.

“We will compete against any team. We have an idea in mind and we try to face everyone on an equal footing, whether it’s a modest rival or a world force,” says Spanish coach Félix Sánchez Bas, 46. He worked in Barcelona’s youth ranks. until 2006, when he was hired by the Qatari government to work at the Aspire Academy, the national center for training athletes.

In 2017, Sánchez took charge of the senior national team. Since then, all the planning has been directed towards the competition that will be held for the first time in a Middle Eastern nation.

Qatar opens the World Cup on November 20, against Ecuador. It will be a key game, as Senegal and Netherlands, favorites to qualify, are also in Group A.

In June of this year, all the athletes that are in Sánchez’s plans were withdrawn from their clubs and began full-time preparation for the World Cup.

“Nowadays, the teams know each other, and the differences have diminished, because everyone has resources and professionals to study the opponents. There are no surprises”, says the coach, in an interview for the local federation’s website.

Any help is welcome. The selection has benefited from the geopolitical and financial influence of the royal family to deepen exchanges and gain experience. The team played in the 2019 and 2021 Copa Americas, a tournament that would theoretically be reserved for South American federations. It was also part of the 2021 Gold Cup, a competition organized by Concacaf, from Central and North America.

Qatar Airways is one of the sponsors of CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) and Copa Libertadores. The company, which belongs to the government of Qatar, paid all expenses for the final of the South American tournament in 2018, when Boca Juniors and River Plate decided to win the title in Madrid.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, emir of Qatar, has investments in Argentina and is a friend of Mauricio Macri, former president of the country and of Boca Juniors.

There is evolution. In the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers, Qatar reached the finals, but was eliminated. He was champion of the 2019 Asian Cup and third in the 2021 Arab Cup. These were two unprecedented results in the history of national football.

The team has used a 3-5-2 formation as it has versatile defensive players such as Portugal-born defender Pedro Miguel and full-back Abdelkarim Hassan. But the fans’ biggest hope is in attack, especially striker Akram Afif, 25. Fast and dribbler, he had spells at Villarreal and Sporting Gijón (both from Spain) and is now at Al Sadd.

Afif was the first name in Qatari football to be signed by a Spanish team and to have played in first division matches.

Al Sadd was coached by Xavi, who marked his time as a Barcelona player – today, at 42, he is ahead of the Catalan team itself. Félix Sánchez says that the ace helped shape the generation of Qatari athletes who are in the national team.

“He helped us whenever he could. Nine players on our team are from Al Sadd. I think he knows our team better than we do. Xavi was always very optimistic about our team and always believed that results could come,” said Sánchez. , in an article on The Coaches’ Voice website.