Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup this November and December, but has the Middle East country been in the Fifa competition before and what is the Maroon’s tournament record?
Football was first introduced to Qatar during the late 1940s, but rapidly grew in popularity in the Arabian peninsula nation. The boom that the sport enjoyed over the 1950s also saw the country construct the very first purpose-built football venue in the Gulf region in Doha.
Further grounds were built in the 1970s, including the Khalifa International Stadium. It will host eight games during the 2022 World Cup, including six group stage ties, a Round of 16 fixture and the third-place play-off. England also play their first tie there on November 21.
The rise in popularity of football saw Qatar establish the country’s football association, the QFA, in 1960. The QFA later became a Fifa member association in 1963, and became a part of the Asian Football Confederation, which governs the game in Asia and Oceania, in 1967.
Yet it was not until 1974 that Qatar first attempted to qualify for a World Cup. But the QFA withdrew the Maroon’s entry in the qualifying stages for the 10th edition of the Fifa event. The 1974 edition is West Germany was the last World Cup that Qatar did not try to reach.
Has Qatar ever been in a World Cup before hosting the 2022 edition?
Qatar attempted to qualify for each World Cup from 1978 to 2018, but have never been to a Fifa tournament. So, the Maroon will make a first appearance at the quadrennial event in 2022 as the hosts. Fifa awarded Qatar the right to hold the 22nd edition at a vote in 2010.
As the first two rounds of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup also acted as qualifiers for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, Qatar still competed in the early stages of the Asian section. The AFC qualifiers saw 46 teams compete for four places, plus an inter-confederation play-off spot.
Qatar faced Oman, India, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in Group E of the second round, and went unbeaten. The Maroon took a near-perfect seven wins and a draw to seal their place at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. They only dropped points in a goalless draw against India.
How did Qatar fare in trying to qualify for the 2018 edition in Russia?
Qatar had a bye to the second qualifying round in their attempt to reach the Russia World Cup in 2018. The Maroon entered the AFC qualifying route as the No.92 ranked country in the world and sixth highest Asian Football Confederation member as the top 34 advanced.
Group C proved to be a breeze for Qatar in the second round, as they topped the standings on 21 points from eight games. Only China could beat the Maroon in one of their meetings to finish in second with 17 points, above Hong Kong (14), the Maldives (6) and Bhutan (0).
Yet round three would be the undoing of Qatar’s hopes to finally qualify for the World Cup on merit. The Maroon crashed out of the AFC path after finishing last in Group A with two wins in 10 games. Even though one of their wins was against the runners-up, South Korea.
Has Qatar ever come close to qualifying for a World Cup on merit?
Qatar came closest to being in a World Cup finals for the 1990 edition in Italy after making the final AFC qualifying round. The Maroon topped their first round table from Iraq, Jordan and Oman. They took nine points from six games, just enough to edge through by a point.
Wins were harder to come by in the second and last stage of the AFC path as Qatar took a win and three draws. Yet five points saw them stay in touch of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. If South Korea had beat the UAE in the last ties, Qatar would have made it.
But in the end, Qatar failed to qualify for the World Cup and continued to do so over their following seven attempts. Now, the Maroon will host the Fifa event in 2022 and be at the tournament for the first time alongside Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands in Group A.
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