FIFA World Cup 2026: Can Asian champions Qatar reach the knockouts?

Previous World Cup appearances : One Best performance : Group stage (2022) First appearance : 2022 (Qatar) Top goal scorer : Mohammed Muntari (1) Most appearances : Abdelkarim Hassan, Boualem Khoukhi, Akram Afif (3 each) Player to watch : Almoez Ali FIFA world ranking : 55

Four years on from their FIFA World Cup debut on home soil, Qatar are gearing up for a new “dream”.

The reigning – and back-to-back – Asian champions head to the June 11-July 19 football tournament in North America, having qualified outright for the first time in the Arab nation’s history.

Making their way to the showpiece after three successful rounds of qualifiers, the Qataris find themselves in an interesting, and potentially inviting, Group B, facing Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The prospect of reaching the knockout stages for the first time appears a realistic target.

The task for the team, according to manager Julen Lopetegui in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, is to take the pressure off – but not at the cost of “ambition”.

In Switzerland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar face two strong teams from Europe. Switzerland are making their 13th appearance at the finals, having reached the knockouts in each of their last three campaigns.

The 19th-ranked Swiss, whose best finish has been the quarterfinals on three occasions, are frontrunners to finish as table toppers of Group B.