From its first international match, in 1970, to its debut in a World Cup, this Sunday (20), Qatar spent more than five decades trying to incorporate football into the country’s culture.
It almost always bet on immigrants for this, similar to what the nation rich in oil and natural gas does for the development of its economy.
Over the past 12 years, it has done the same for the construction of all the infrastructure to host the World Cup, including the stadiums, in a process surrounded by accusations of disrespect for human rights.
It is not surprising, therefore, that on the edge of the lawn of the Al Bayt stadium, in the opening match of the tournament, against Ecuador, at 13:00 (Brasília time), a foreigner, the Spaniard Félix Sánchez, is in charge of directing the Qatari national team in his World Cup debut.
The coach worked at Barcelona’s base until 2006, when the Qatari government hired him to run an athlete training centre. In 2017, he took over the main team, already starting planning for this World Cup.
Last June, all the athletes that were in Sánchez’s plans for the Cup were removed from their clubs and began full-time preparation.
Under him, the first host to debut at a World Cup since Italy in 1934 has a record to protect as no host country has ever lost on opener.
One way to maintain this invincibility is to score goals and avoid repeating what happened to Mexico in 1970, the last time a host did not score in the opening match. On that occasion, the Mexicans drew 0-0 with the Soviet Union.
The crowd’s biggest offensive hope lies in the feet of striker Akram Afif, 25. Fast and a dribbler, he had spells at Villarreal and Sporting Gijón (both from Spain) and is currently at Al Sadd, from Qatar.
Qataris have an even tougher mission. That of trying to advance to the knockout stage so as not to repeat the campaign of South Africa, in 2010, the only host country that fell in the first phase.
The Spanish coach says that these goals help him to keep his focus on football, despite having to take a stand on all the controversies that surround the tournament in the country.
For him, by the way, there is an “effort to destabilize” the country. “The best thing you can do as a team or as a football player is to remain calm and avoid rumors or noise around you. Obviously we don’t like people criticizing our country, but in terms of football we have had great preparation.”
Sánchez was also upset this Saturday (19) when asked about an alleged scheme pointed out by the English newspaper Daily Mail, according to which Ecuadorian players were being bribed to lose the match against the Qataris.
Ecuador have lost just 1 of their last 15 matches. There were five wins and nine draws. The South American team is in its fourth World Cup. It also qualified for the 2002, 2006 and 2014 editions. The best campaign was 16 years ago, in Germany, when it reached the round of 16.
“There is a lot of misinformation,” said the coach. “The internet is a great tool, but it is also very dangerous. No one can destabilize us with these statements. We are not affected in any way. We are very happy to play in a World Cup. We are focused on playing our best game and we will not take anything away.” in consideration.”
Qatar is ranked 50th in FIFA and has never qualified for the World Cup, although it is the current champion of the Asian Cup and reached the semi-finals of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup when invited.
“If we had gone through the qualifiers this time, we would have qualified,” said captain Hassan al-Haydos, Qatar’s most capped player with 169 appearances.
“This edition is for all Arabs, and we have responsibility for all Arabs. There are four Arab squadrons participating and I wish them all the best of luck.”
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