Qatar play Switzerland on Saturday, in what will be the first game of the 2026 World Cup for both countries.
Qatar were of course the host nation in 2022, but were eliminated in the group stage, finishing last in Group A in embarrassing fashion..
Qatar’s 2022 Malaise
As the tournament hosts, they suffered a difficult campaign and broke several unwanted records. They lost all three group games and statistically were the worst-performing host nation in World Cup history. They finished the group stage with three losses, zero points, one goal scored, and seven goals conceded.
The country will want to right the wrongs of four years ago, but are up against one of the most consistent nations in Europe. In the last five major tournaments (Euros and World Cups), Switzerland have never been knocked out earlier than the round of 16, and have reached the quarter-finals twice.
They are ranked by FIFA as the 19th best team in the world while Qatar are ranked 55th. On paper it is a mismatch, but Qatar do have one wildcard up their sleeve.
The Lopetegui Factor
As of May 2025 they have been managed by Julen Lopetegui. The Spaniard is widely regarded as one of the top European managers and has managed Spain, Real Madrid, Porto, Sevilla and West Ham in his illustrious career.
It was a huge coup for Qatar to get him, and he was highly motivated for the job after he was famously sacked as Spain’s manager on the eve of the 2018 World Cup for secretly accepting to become Real Madrid’s manager after the tournament.
The Spaniard spoke about that saga and his feelings after Qatar secured qualification to this World Cup, saying: “It seems like life owed me a World Cup, and fortunately, today I got it. It’s a reward that I’m grateful for.
I’m very excited to be at a World Cup after what happened some years ago, and now it’s time to experience it with Qatar. There was a desire to be able to reach another World Cup, and that was an important factor in my decision to come here.”
Qatar have almost no players of note, except Akram Afif. Readily identifiable by his wild mane of curly hair, the winger is among the most prolific goal scorers in the Qatari Stars League. Sadly, however, his accuracy with the national team has dropped; he’s scored once since 2025. Qatar will be hoping their unity and support from their fans, as well as the tactical nous of Lopetegui, will be able to lift them.
Swiss Brilliance
Switzerland on the other hand are littered with stars. They have Gregor Kobel, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo. Just to name a few.
Captain Xhaka is now 33 and this could well be his last World Cup. He is fresh off a brilliant season with Sunderland, guiding them to European football next season, and will be right up for this tournament.
Manager Murat Yakin has been in post since 2021 and has brought through this current crop of players. The Swiss are a well-oiled machine and have staggeringly only lost once since November 2024.
Ahead of the beginning of the tournament, Yakin spoke of his pride at Switzerland’s achievements: “Yes, we did go quite far in Germany in 2024. We not only held our own against the mighty England, but we were actually the better side. But in the end, luck was not on our side, unfortunately.
“As a coach, it’s great to have players of such calibre – in terms of their character, mentality and experience – who also take on a lot of responsibility and play a key role at their clubs,” Yakin explained. “You really can see the difference in their quality, intensity and training standards; the way they make their team-mates better, the way they make them stronger, the way they set an example for the young lads day in, day out.”
