Qatar at the FIFA World Cup

Prior to qualifying as host nation, Qatar had never qualified for the FIFA World Cup since the country's independence in 1971. While Qatar has been a regular participant in the continental AFC Asian Cup, the national side has always fallen short in the final stage of World Cup campaigns. By hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup and its failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia, Qatar became the only nation to play in a World Cup without qualifying for it and the second nation after Italy (back in 1934) to qualify for the World Cup as hosts after being absent in all previous World Cups before.qatar has qualifed for only the 2026 world cup in USA,mexico and Canada.[1]

In 2017, the Qatari government has introduced reforms aimed at improving conditions for migrant workers. In January 2022, FIFA president Gianni Infantino acknowledged the country's amendments in work legislation, protection of workers and minimum wage while addressing more alterations to be made.[2] FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended Qatar's decision to host the tournament. Others have asserted that Qatar has a better human rights record than Russia and China, which were subjected to less harsh criticism for the same problems when hosting important athletic events in the years before the tournament.

According to Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, prior to the tournament, "the new Kafala system tranche of law will put an end to Kafala and establish a contemporary industrial relations system."

Qatar's national team showed some improvement in their performance since the country was awarded the tournament, including winning the 2019 AFC Asian Cup,[3] and in 2019 Copa América drew against former champions and World Cup quarter-finalists Paraguay with 2–2.[4]

At rank 50, Qatar entered the tournament as the third lowest ranked team of the total 32; placing higher only above Saudi Arabia and Ghana.[5] The nation performed poorly and set some upsetting records among host nations in the process. Qatar became the first host nation to lose not only its opening match, but also all three of its matches. Upon losing the second match against Senegal with a score of 3–1, Qatar became the first host nation to be eliminated from the tournament with a group game remaining after the Netherlands later on drew with Ecuador (putting both with four points, Senegal with three and Qatar with zero).[6] Qatar also finished last in their group by failing to secure any point, making them the first host nation to have 0 points at the end of the group stage.[7] The nation thereby became the worst performing host nation in the history of the tournament, overtaking South Africa, who had finished third in their group with 4 points and were eliminated based on goal difference.[8]

On 14 October 2025, Qatar secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating the United Arab Emirates 2–1 in Doha, marking their first-ever qualification for a World Cup through the standard AFC qualification process, having previously participated in 2022 as hosts.[9][10]

Record at the FIFA World Cup

Overall record

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Did not enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974Withdrew Withdrew
Argentina 1978Did not qualify 410339
Spain 1982 420253
Mexico 1986 420263
Italy 1990 11461128
United States 1994 8512228
France 1998 116142110
South Korea Japan 2002 147432413
Germany 2006 6303168
South Africa 2010 166461620
Brazil 2014 145541814
Russia 2018 169163514
Qatar 2022 Group stage32nd300317 8710181
Canada Mexico United States 2026Group stage41st3012210 1810353829
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030To be determinedTo be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
TotalGroup stage2/236015317 134672641238154

By match

World Cup Round Opponent Score Result Venue Qatar scorers
2022Group stage Ecuador0–2LAl Khor—
 Senegal1–3LDohaMuntari
 Netherlands0–2LAl Khor—
2026Group stage  Switzerland1–1DSanta ClaraMuheim (o.g.)
 Canada0–6LVancouver—
 Bosnia and Herzegovina1–3LSeattleAl-Haydos

Qatar 2022

Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Senegal 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
3  Ecuador 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
4  Qatar (H) 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Qatar 0–2 Ecuador
[Report 1]
Attendance: 67,372
Qatar 1–3 Senegal
 [Report 2]
Attendance: 41,797
Netherlands 2–0 Qatar
 [Report 3]
Attendance: 66,784

Canada/Mexico/United States 2026

Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Switzerland 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Canada (H) 3 1 1 1 8 3 +5 4[a]
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 4[a]
4  Qatar 3 0 1 2 2 10 −8 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Tied on head-to-head result (Canada 1–1 Bosnia and Herzegovina). Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.
Qatar 1–1 Switzerland
 [Report 4]
Attendance: 67,966
Canada 6–0 Qatar
 [Report 5]
Attendance: 52,497
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–1 Qatar
 [Report 6]
Attendance: 66,925

Player records

Most appearances

Rank Player Matches World Cups
1 Akram Afif62022 and 2026
Boualem Khoukhi62022 and 2026
Pedro Miguel62022 and 2026
4 Homam Ahmed52022 and 2026
Hassan Al-Haydos52022 and 2026
Karim Boudiaf52022 and 2026
7 Almoez Ali42022 and 2026
Abdulaziz Hatem42022 and 2026
Assim Madibo42022 and 2026

Goalscorers

On 25 November 2022, Mohammed Muntari scored Qatar's first-ever FIFA World Cup goal, netting on home soil against Senegal in Doha.

Player Goals 2022 2026
Mohammed Muntari 1 1
Hassan Al-Haydos 1 1
Own goals 1 1
Total 3 12

Head-to-head record

See also

References

  1. ↑ Montague, James (October 9, 2017). "Qatar Has a World Cup Date. It Still Needs a World-Class Team". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ "FIFA chief Infantino lauds Qatar's labour reforms". ESPN.com. 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  3. ↑ "What the Asian Cup win means for Qatar, host of 2022 World Cup". www.aljazeera.com.
  4. ↑ "Qatar impressive performance facing Paraguay in Copa America 2019". Thể thao 247. 17 June 2019.
  5. ↑ Thomas, Joshua (4 December 2022). "FIFA rankings for all 32 World Cup teams: How are they calculated and when are they updated?". The Sporting News. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "Qatar creates embarrassing record, becomes first host nation to get knocked out of FIFA WC after two matches". Times Now News. 26 November 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  7. ↑ "Qatar sets embarrassing record, becomes first host nation in history to finish FIFA WC campaign with 0 points". Times Now News. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  8. ↑ Brown, Luke (25 November 2022). "Qatar lose again — but has a host nation ever been knocked out in the World Cup group stage?". The Athletic. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  9. ↑ "Qatar reach World Cup through qualification for first time, beating UAE". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-10-15.
  10. ↑ "Qatar 2 - 1 United Arab Emirates". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 2025-10-15.

Reports

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
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