Host status secured Qatar's route to the FIFA 2022 World Cup, and they broke new ground in the competition with their first appearance on the main stage.
Despite the controversy over FIFA's decision to select Qatar as the competition hosts, the Middle East held its first World Cup, and all eyes were on Qatar's team and how they would perform.
A lack of World Cup pedigree was a major factor against Felix Sanchez's side, despite unfancied host nations rising up to the challenge in past tournaments. They shocked Asia by winning the most recent AFC Asian Cup in 2019.
But they were unable to leave a strong impression at the elite stage of the World Cup, suffering elimination after just two group games.
MORE: All you need to know about the World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar
Final Qatar World Cup squad 2022
Sanchez had until Friday, October 21 to submit an official preliminary list of 35-55 players to FIFA, and from there he selected his final 26-man roster announced on Nov. 11, a few days ahead of the FIFA deadline of Nov. 14.
The final squad was entirely made up of players from the domestic Qatar Stars League and with exactly half of the players hailing from defending champions Al Sadd.
Find the full squad of 26 players below:
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Saad Al-Sheeb | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 80 |
| GK | 22 | Meshaal Barsham | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 24 | 15 |
| GK | 21 | Yousuf Hassan | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 26 | 9 |
| DEF | 2 | Pedro Miguel | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 78 |
| DEF | 13 | Musaab Khidir | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 29 |
| DEF | 5 | Tarek Salman | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 24 | 54 |
| DEF | 4 | Mohammed Waad | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 23 | 20 |
| DEF | 15 | Bassam Al Rawi | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 24 | 51 |
| DEF | 16 | Boualem Khoukhi | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 99 |
| DEF | 17 | Ismail Mohammad | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 32 | 66 |
| DEF | 14 | Homam Ahmed | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 23 | 27 |
| MID | 3 | Abdelkarim Hassan | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 120 |
| MID | 25 | Jassim Jabir | Al-Arabi (QAT) | 20 | 0 |
| MID | 8 | Ali Asad | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 56 |
| MID | 23 | Assim Madibo | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 26 | 43 |
| MID | 20 | Salem Al-Hajri | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 26 | 23 |
| MID | 26 | Tarek Mustafa | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 21 | 1 |
| MID | 12 | Karim Boudiaf | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 32 | 108 |
| MID | 6 | Abdulaziz Hatim | Al-Rayyan (QAT) | 32 | 96 |
| MID | 24 | Naif Al-Hadhrami | Al-Rayyan (QAT) | 21 | 1 |
| MID | 10 | Hassan Al-Haydos | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 31 | 160 |
| FWD | 7 | Ahmed Alaaeldin | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 29 | 45 |
| FWD | 11 | Akram Afif | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 25 | 83 |
| FWD | 19 | Almoez Ali | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 26 | 82 |
| FWD | 9 | Mohammed Muntari | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 28 | 41 |
| FWD | 18 | Khalid Muneer | Al-Wakrah (QAT) | 24 | 3 |
WORLD CUP 2022 SELECTED SQUADS:
Australia | Argentina | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon
Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | Ecuador | England
France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico
Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Senegal
Serbia | Spain | Switzerland | Uruguay | USA | Wales
The announcement we were waiting for ⏳😍
— Qatar Football Association (@QFA_EN) November 11, 2022
Introducing.. Felix Sanchez’s Qatar national team squad for the 2022 World Cup 🏆
These are our heroes. And now, it's our TIME 💪🇶🇦#AllForAlAnnabi#ForTheLoveOfQatar pic.twitter.com/0ahwdE6L9p
Qatar best player, strengths & weaknesses
After receiving an automatic spot at the World Cup, Qatar were placed in UEFA qualifying Group A (as a non-competitor) to enable Sanchez's side to get a taste of top-level action before the World Cup tournament.
Two wins from 10 games showed their struggles against European sides, but they managed to reach the semifinals of North America's 2021 Gold Cup and the Arab Cup.
Stars
Sanchez relied on a solely home-based Qatari squad for the World Cup, with several of his players already reaching 100 or more international caps.
The unquestioned star is the electric Akram Afif at forward. Veteran Hassan Al Haydos is the team's skillful playmaker who is the key link as the team aims to catch opponents by surprise on the counter.
Strengths
The counterattack is Qatar's main weapon and Akram Afif is the critical component of that transition game. His speed and one-vs-one skills can be enough to cause chaos in the opponent's half. Fellow forward Almoez Ali is typically the beneficiary of any service if Afif can't do it all himself.
Weaknesses
Outside of the international competition that Qatar has sought through friendlies and other tournaments, their players are untested outside of their own national league and that inexperience was evident at the World Cup.
Qatar World Cup group
Qatar were eliminated after just two matches in their World Cup debut.
The nerves showed in the 2-0 inaugural match loss to Ecuador, and their defending failed them against Senegal as they conceded three goals.
Qatar Group A fixtures and match schedule
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | Stadium |
| Sun, Nov. 20 | Qatar 0, Ecuador 2 | 11 a.m. | Al Bayt Stadium |
| Fri, Nov. 25 | Qatar 1, Senegal 3 | 8 a.m. | Al Thumama Stadium |
| Tues, Nov. 29 | Netherlands vs. Qatar | 10 a.m. | Al Bayt Stadium |
Did Qatar replace players on World Cup roster?
Qatar did not make any replacements to the final roster.
Once the final 26-man roster was made official, participating teams at the World Cup were only able to make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.
According to the official tournament rules, "a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team's first match."
The team in question would have needed to submit a medical report to FIFA and if the world governing body determined "the injury or illness is sufficiently serious to prevent the player from taking part in the FIFA World Cup" then the replacement would be allowed.
The replacement player would have had to come from the preliminary list of players submitted to FIFA in October.