Algeria star Adlene Guedioura expects Qatar will do well at the 2022 Fifa World Cup if they can beat Ecuador in the opening game. He has also named three Maroon players to watch.
Qatar kick off the first World Cup held in the Middle East against Ecuador on November 20. The game is a standalone match with the opening ceremony after Fifa brought forward the fixture. Fifa sought to uphold the recent tradition of the host nation playing the first game.
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Senegal and the Netherlands will also contest Group A with Qatar and Ecuador at the 2022 World Cup. This year’s tournament is Qatar’s first World Cup having failed to qualify on 11 occasions. The Maroon played in a full qualifying campaign for all tournaments since 1978.
Group A games against Senegal and the Netherlands will follow for Qatar on November 25 and 29 respectively. Should they advance to the knockout stages, the Maroon could meet England, Wales, the USA or Iran depending on which countries also progress from Group B.
Guedioura has named Al-Haydos among his Qatar stars to watch at the World Cup
Guedioura has now told the BBC’s World Football podcast ahead of the World Cup that he expects Qatar to push Senegal and the Netherlands if they beat Ecuador. The Algeria star has a strong knowledge of the Maroon team from playing in Qatar for the last three years.
He first joined Al-Gharafa from 2019 to 2021 after spells with Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Watford and Middlesbrough. Guedioura returned to Qatar in August with Al-Duhail following a brief spell back in England with Sheffield United and Burton Albion.
Having played beside many of those who will represent Qatar at the country’s first World Cup, Guedioura sees Akram Afif as their most obvious player to watch. The 25-year-old is an 83-cap left-sided forward from Doha and plays with Al-Sadd in the Qatari Stars League.
“I have friends because I played with, let’s say, half of the team,” Guedioura said. “I really believe that if they win the first game against Ecuador, they will do well with the support of the people here and go further.”
He added: “They have really quality players and the first name who comes up [for me] in the national team is Akram Afif, who was named [as the 2019] Asian Player of the Year.
“Karim Boudiaf, who was born in France with Algerian origins, is the captain and is doing very well. And you have Hassan Al-Haydos, who plays number 10, who is a very good player, very skilful and has scored some great goals.”
Afif has scored 24 goals over his 83 appearances for Qatar across all competitions. He also produced a strong Gold Cup campaign in 2021 with two goals and four assists. Boudiaf, on the other hand, is a 108-cap defensive midfielder who plies his trade in Qatar at Al-Duhail.
Al-Haydos, meanwhile, is a 160-cap right-sided forward who has spent his career with Al-Sadd. The 31-year-old from Doha has scored 34 times across his Qatar appearances so far.
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