Julen Lopetegui led Qatar to the country’s first-ever World Cup point.
The World Cup boss has now turned his gaze from the history books to surprise the host nation Canada, after his team took a surprising point against Switzerland. – Little abroad has secured one of the world’s best managers in Julen Lopetegui, while Canada, as on paper that a MUCH stronger team has boring Jesse Marsch.
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In 2022, Qatar lost all three matches as the host nation. In San Francisco, they were down after Breel Embolog’s penalty kick in the first half. But then, in the added time of the second half, captain Boualem Khoukhi soared and headed in a 1-1 draw – against a team ranked 31 places higher than Qatar by FIFA.
“We have to make a significant effort to recover before the meeting with Canada, who have an extra day of rest and play at home,” former West Ham, Real Madrid and Spain coach Lopetegui told Mundo Deportivo. His team travels to Vancouver on Thursday.
“Being here is a dream. Getting a point is a dream. And we will continue to dream. We know that we are at a lower level than our three opponents, but we want to compete.”
Can Qatar beat Canada? Analysis before the 2026 World Cup
Canada, ranked 31st, drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday after coming from behind. Qatar now has a golden opportunity to make the step through to the playoffs.
“Just being here was historic,” Lopetegui reflects. “Picking up points against Switzerland – one of Europe’s best teams, with tremendous stability and top players – is already important.”
He adds: “A number of circumstances played together. We knew how to suffer in those difficult moments, we didn’t panic when we were down, and we were rewarded with a goal. Switzerland had a lot of chances, but we defended as best we could.”
World Cup 2026 – remaining matches for Qatar
- June: Canada – Qatar (23:00 BST / 18:00 ET / 15:00 PT)
- June: Bosnia and Herzegovina – Qatar
The winner of Group B will face a third-placed team in the round of eight. The runner-up will face Mexico, South Korea, the Czech Republic or South Africa. If Qatar finishes third, they will have to hope to be among the top eight out of twelve groups.
Facts about Qatar and Switzerland:
“Qatar finished last in their group in 2022, conceding seven goals and scoring one.
– Almoez Ali is Qatar’s all-time top scorer with 55 goals in 114 games, but hasn’t scored since December 2024.
“Mohammed Muntari scored Qatar’s only World Cup goal before this championship.
“Switzerland have not reached the quarter-finals since 1954, when they were the host nation.
– Switzerland and France are the only European teams to have reached the playoffs in the last six major championships (World Cup and European Championship).
– Breel Embolo was Switzerland’s top scorer in the qualifiers with four goals.
“Ricardo Rodriguez is in his fourth World Cup and has started every single game in six different championships.
The universe is still running away from us – in fact, a little faster every second
