Qatar will make their World Cup debut as the host nation in 2022 with Felix Sanchez Bas at the helm. But who is the Maroon manager and what is his all-time record as a head coach?
FIFA awarded Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup back in 2010 despite the Arabian Peninsula country never previously qualifying. The Maroon would also fail to secure a spot at the 2014 and 2018 editions in Brazil and Russia under Fahad Al Thani and Jorge Fossati.
The Qatar Football Association (QFA) hired Sanchez in July 2017 as Fossati’s heir with their qualification for the 2018 World Cup in doubt. He was unable to prevent their absence in Russia. But the Spaniard has produced some success in the lead-up to the 2022 edition.
An opening night match with Ecuador on November 20 will mark Qatar’s World Cup debut following the opening ceremony. It is the only game FIFA has scheduled for the first day of the 22nd edition of its competition. The Group A affair at Al Bayt Stadium is at 16:00 GMT.
Senegal and the Netherlands will also challenge Qatar and Ecuador to advance from Group A. The Maroon take on the Lions of Teranga at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on November 25 at 13:00. Qatar also return to Al Bayt Stadium on November 29 at 15:00 to face Oranje.
Who is Felix Sanchez Bas, Qatar’s manager for the 2022 World Cup?
Sanchez will make his debut as a World Cup manager as Qatar makes the country’s bow in 2022. The 46-year-old has never previously coached at a major competition throughout his career, which started back in 1996. He has also only been a senior head coach since 2017.
The QFA handed Sanchez his first role as a first-team head coach when replacing Fossati in charge of the Maroon. They chose to promote from within whilst seeking an eighth boss in just six years. Neither of their previous seven coaches had overseen more than 16 fixtures.
Sanchez will oversee his 70th game as their manager when Qatar hosts Ecuador in the first match for the 2022 World Cup. Their game with the Netherlands on November 29 will also mark 1,975 days in charge for the Barcelona native. No one has managed Qatar for longer.
Dzemaludin Musovic boasts the second-longest tenure in charge of the Maroon at 1,105 days. The Bosnian oversaw the national squad from July 2004 to July 2007 to eclipse the tenure of Mohamed Hassan Kheiri. He stood at the helm from July 1969 until June 1972.
Who did Felix Sanchez Bas previously coach before landing the Maroon job?
The QFA promoted from within when appointing Sanchez as the manager of its national team in 2017. He had worked within the Maroon set-up for the previous four years with overlapping periods in charge of their Under-19 side (2013-15) and U20 team (2014-17).
Sanchez also oversaw Qatar’s U23s from 2017 to 2020, alongside his duties with the senior squad. He took the Maroon’s development side to the third-place play-off at the 2018 AFC U23 Championships and beat South Korea. But they did not get out of their group in 2020.
His U20 tenure also included the U20 World Cup in 2015. But Qatar lost all of their games with Colombia, Portugal and Senegal. Portugal’s youth team handed Sanchez a 4-0 defeat with a side including Andre Silva, Gelson Martins and with Goncalo Guedes on the bench.
Before becoming the Qatar U19 coach in 2013, Sanchez was a coach and talent spotter in the Aspire Academy. The QFA founded it in 2004 to scout and develop Qatari athletes and also provide its prospects with secondary school education at its base in Doha Sports City.
Felix Sanchez Bas was a headline hire for the Aspire Academy from Barcelona
Sanchez was an early addition after joining the Aspire Academy in 2006 through to 2013. He was also a headline appointment for the Qatari leadership having joined directly after 10 years in Barcelona’s La Masia. The Barcelona-born coach worked at the club from 1996.
A role developing the Blaugrana’s brightest talents at their famed academy was Sanchez’s first position in coaching. Barcelona also credit the coach with instilling ‘the Barca DNA in Sergi Roberto, Marc Muniesa, Gerard Deulofeu and Martin Montoya’ among other names.
Sanchez has since taken the Barca DNA into the Qatar national team with some successes. He led the Maroon to glory at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. It was Qatar’s first – and so far only – title in the competition after beating Japan 3-1 in the final.
Qatar also beat a South Korea squad captained by Tottenham Hotspur forward Son-Heung Min in the quarter-final. Abdulaziz Hatem scored as Qatar edged the Taegeuk Warriors 1-0.
What is Felix Sanchez Bas’ all-time record as a head coach?
U19 Qatar: Played 1 – Won 0 – Drew 0 – Loss 1 – Goals scored 0 – Goals conceded 1
U20 Qatar: Played 7 – Won 2 – Drew 1 – Loss 4 – Goals scored 6 – Goals conceded 16
U23 Qatar: Played 17 – Won 5 – Drew 5 – Loss 7 – Goals scored 19 – Goals conceded 32
Qatar: Played 69 – Won 35 – Drew 13 – Loss 21 – Goals scored 115 – Goals conceded 85
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