Tribune News Network
Doha
With their chances of a straight qualification in the third round of FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers moving into a grey area, hosts Qatar are looking to extract home advantage in a must-win clash against Uzbekistan at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday to keep their hopes alive.
A reversal of a result could dampen Qatar’s hopes of securing an automatic qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The two-time AFC Asian Cup champions are currently on four points, six behind Iran and Uzbekistan, with the qualifying campaign reaching the halfway stage.
Qatar coach Marquez Lopez who led Qatar to the AFC Asian Cup 2023 title on home soil in February, has recalled Mohammed Muntari, who makes a return after a long injury layoff, with Akram Afif and Almoez Ali are also part of a squad who desperately need a win to keep their hopes of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup on merit for the first time alive.
The task is indeed challenging, especially against an upbeat Uzbekistan side packed with some top players. Spaniard Lopez, while speaking to the media on eve of the match on Wednesday, made no bones of the fact that the team needs to overcome its struggles and in a dramatic way.
“We have conceded 10 goals in the qualifiers, and injuries have often made things difficult. Defensively, we don’t have many options, and key players getting injured only adds to the challenge,” said Lopez.
“But we are ready for the match, and we need to give 200%. Players are human, and mistakes happen—football can be unforgiving. We have faced a lot of challenges while preparing the squad given the injuries. Our goal is to win and secure the three points that will be key to our hopes of qualification. The players and everyone involved are aware of this, and we hope everything goes in our favor. We will fight until the last breath to win,” stressed Lopez.
Uzbekistan, however, will be extremely tough opponents as they have been thriving in the AFC Asian Qualifiers with only Iran being able to take points off them so far.
Lopez said, “They are a tough team which doesn’t concede many goals and consistently plays with the same group. They have excellent players, especially their attacking trio. Yet, we will try to impose our style. We have studied the opposition closely and trained hard throughout the past week. We shall look to exploit their weaknesses. It will be a challenging match.”
Uzbekistan are seeking a first-ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup, and the Central Asian side will fancy their chances of walking away with the three points given their form and fitness.
Their captain Eldor Shomurodov, who also playes for Serie A side AS Roma, is optimistic about his team’s chances. Uzbekistan last came close to qualifying for a World Cup in 2014 when a goal difference blew their automatic qualification and later they lost to Jordan in the play-off.
They aim to cross the line this time. “If we manage to beat Qatar, our chances will improve even further,” Shomurodov had said earlier. “Qatar are right behind us in the standings. We must do everything we can to keep them from closing in. Winning this game is crucial.”
Uzbekistan’s assistant coach, Vlado Radmanovich said, “The match will be decided on small details. Even one mistake can make the difference. Not losing the match will be a good result for us.”
The top two teams from each group gain automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup in US, Canada and Mexico. Six nations that finish third and fourth in their respective groups will advance to the fourth round, where a further two automatic berths are available.
One additional team will then advance to the FIFA Play-off Tournament, where six sides compete for the last two tickets to the global finals.
Qatar, therefore does have more to the road ahead in terms of gaining a berth at the 2026 World Cup. But a fight against Uzbekistan could help them gain the much-needed points to be in top four of Group which also has Iran (also on 10 points now), UAE (4 pts), Kyrgyzstan (3 pts) and North Korea (2 pts).
The kick-off at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday is at 7.15pm.
