Four years after World Cup failure, Qatar is ready for a second chance in Bay Area
SANTA CLARA – Qatar manager Julen Lopetegui smiled through the half-hour news conference on Friday at Levi's Stadium, talking up his team and its talents.
They had survived a World Cup qualifier gauntlet and navigated war in the Middle East. The Spaniard charged with leading the small Gulf State nation to unprecedented heights projected confidence in his side … for the most part.
When asked to divulge what his tactics would be against the powerful Swiss team in Saturday's World Cup opener for the two nations, Lopetegui couldn't help but unleash a sarcastic but realistic response.
"Maybe we'll play with 12," Lopetegui quipped, before adding, "We have our ideas, and we will try to develop our idea, knowing that it will be difficult."
If there is any team in this year's World Cup that knows how difficult it is to succeed at the globe's most prestigious tournament, it is Qatar.
Qatar was not ready for the world's most prominent sporting stage four years ago, having only qualified for the World Cup thanks to its status as the host nation, after spending the previous 70 years as an afterthought – or even a non-entity – in the soccer world.
Multiple figures within the sport have alleged, under oath, that members of FIFA accepted bribes in exchange for giving the World Cup to Qatar, a nation that has also been accused of facilitating human rights abuses of the migrant workers who built the country's stadiums.
Afterward, the nation of just 3.4 million became the first host country in tournament history to lose each of its group stage games, falling to Senegal, Ecuador and the Netherlands over the course of nine days.
Only a meaningless late goal by Mohammed Muntari in a 3-1 loss to Senegal prevented the hosts from going scoreless.
This time around, a markedly improved Qatar team has earned its spot at the World Cup.
"This is the second time we have competed," team captain Hassan Al-Haydos said through an interpreter. "The first time taught us how to play, prepare and compete .. I can't promise to our fans anything, but we will compete and play as hard as we can."
After finishing in the middle of an Asian Football Confederation group that saw Iran and Uzbekistan advance at the top, Qatar earned a spot in the World Cup in the next round by beating out the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Attacking players Akram Afif, Al-Haydos and Almoez Ali are the unquestioned stars of the squad.
Afif has hit the double-figure totals in goals in seven of his eight seasons in the Qatari league, while Al-Haydos came out of retirement to play one last time for the national team.
The 35-year-old has spent his entire 19-year club career with Al-Sadd, where he has scored 102 goals in 354 appearances.
That trio headlines a team that has had to deal with military action and uncertainty within both their home country and the wider Arab Gulf region.
Israel conducted an airstrike on Qatar's capital of Doha in September of 2025, with the Israeli government claiming it was targeting leaders of Hamas.
On March 1 of this year, the Qatari soccer federation postponed all matches during the ongoing war between Israel and Iran while other sporting events in the region were also affected.
"We've had to change all of our schedules, but OK, we've had to get used to that," Lopetegui said.
While Qatar is a relative newcomer to the World Cup, its opponent is familiar with the stage.
Switzerland has participated 13 times and easily qualified for the 2026 edition. The Swiss won four matches and drew twice in their European group to breeze to North America.
But Swiss coach Murat Yakin certainly isn’t taking anything for granted.
“Lopetegui is a very seasoned coach, and he’s very clever,” Yakin said Friday. “We know about our qualities and have assessed our opponent very well. This a WC match and an opener, and there is always some excitement there and we can be nervous. We hope to get into the match and into the game quickly, and attack early and find solutions. We have top players who can do all of that.”
Leading the Swiss is defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka, whose one goal, six assists and eight yellow cards for Sunderland in the Premier League paint quite the accurate picture of how the hard-tackling, slick-passing 33-year-old makes an impact.
“We are very strong with the ball and without the ball … (today) we will show what we can do,” Xhaka said. “In football, we always talk about tactical things, but you also have to enjoy the moment.
“This is one of the most important things in football, that you feel free and just enjoy the moment … We want to bring our A-game, and perform for our family and Switzerland.”
Striker Breel Embolo (10 goals for Rennes in the French league) was almost kept out of the tournament after a 2018 brawl initially caused him visa issues when the Swiss team boarded its flight to the United States a week ago. But the forward was later cleared.
While the Qatari national team practiced at nearby PayPal Park Friday morning, Switzerland trained in San Diego early in the day before hopping on a plane and making the short flight to San Jose.
“It is going to be warmer than in our camp in SD, but we are not trying to find excuses,” Xhaka said. “We have a drinking break, a cooling break, and we are physically and mentally well prepared. … we just have to perform on the pitch, and we will keep going.”
As a heat wave engulfs the Bay Area, temperatures at kickoff are expected to be around 90 degrees in Santa Clara. While that is a bit warm by Swiss standards, it should be nothing for the Qataris: The capital of Doha will hit 111 degrees on Saturday afternoon.
Being acclimated to the wilting temperatures might be the only advantage for Lopetegui and his men on Saturday, but they are ready for the challenge.
"We made history in this last year, and we don't want to stop," Lopetegui said. "We have this ambition, and we were following one dream that we achieved, but now we have another new dream, and we know it's going to be very, very difficult."
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 5:42 PM.