The Uzbekistan national football team will meet Qatar in Doha in the third round of qualification for the 2026 World Cup. The match will take place on November 15 at 21:15.
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Based on the results of four rounds in Group A, Uzbekistan ranks second with 10 points. Iran is in the lead thanks to a better goal difference (10). The UAE and Qatar are in third and fourth places (4 points each), Kyrgyzstan is in 5th place (3), and the DPRK is in last place (2).
The national team has three victories – against the DPRK (1:0), Kyrgyzstan (2:3) and the UAE (1:0), as well as a home draw with Iran (0:0).
Qatar lost at home to the UAE (1:3) and away to Iran (4:1), drew with the DPRK (2:2) and defeated Kyrgyzstan (3:1).
The last time Uzbekistan and Qatar met in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup was in February this year, where the national team lost in a penalty shootout (1:1, 3:2). Qatar subsequently became the champion of Asia.
In total, the teams played 15 matches among themselves. Uzbekistan has 9 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. The number of goals scored is also in favor of the national team – 25 versus 14 for Qatar.
In the third qualifying round of the World Cup, 18 teams are divided into three groups of six teams. The two best teams from the group will directly advance to the final stage of the 2026 World Cup. The teams that take third and fourth places will play in the fourth round, where they will compete for two more direct tickets, as well as a place in the intercontinental playoffs.
Therefore, it is important for teams to finish first or second in their group in order to directly qualify for the World Cup.
At the pre-match press conference on November 14, assistant head coach Vlado Radmanovich and national team midfielder Otabek Shukurov answered questions from journalists. Mentor Srečko Katanec was absent due to illness on the recommendation of doctors, although he conducted the team’s training.
“If we talk about tomorrow’s match, then every game, of course, will be difficult. Tomorrow’s match is important for both Qatar and the Uzbekistan national team. As for our team, all players are ready for tomorrow’s meeting,” Radmanovic said.
According to him, the coaching staff has enough information about the Qatar national team.
Vlado Radmanovich.
“We analyzed their last 3-4 games. We have some experience playing with them. We also recently met as part of the Asian Cup. Therefore, I can say that the team is ready for tomorrow’s match, and the result without defeat can be considered successful,” the specialist said.
The assistant coach also answered the question of what form the team is in and whether it is capable of winning a ticket to the World Cup.
“We have been working with the Uzbekistan national team for three years. All this time we have been working with this group of players. We follow all the players participating in the championship, not only in the major league, but also in the first, second and other leagues. Therefore, now the national team has reached the level that we know well how to play against any opponent and what state we are in ourselves,” he said.
In addition, Vlado Radmanovic noted that Uzbekistan was in a “very difficult group” and that one single episode could affect the outcome of the match on Thursday.
“That’s why every match is of great importance to us. If you look at the teams in the group, be it Iran or the UAE, they are all strong teams. One shot, one dribble or one mistake can affect the outcome of tomorrow’s match,” he said.
Qatar head coach Marques Lopez is awaiting a reaction from his team after their 4-1 defeat to Iran in the fourth round.
The defeat was a heavy blow as Almoez Ali gave Qatar the lead, but their poor defending cost them dearly as Iran took the initiative and took all three points.
Lopez, who led Qatar to the 2023 Asian Cup title at home in February, called up striker Mohamed Muntari, who returns from a long injury lay-off, in the squad, along with Akram Afif and Almoez Ali. The team desperately needs a win to keep their World Cup hopes alive. Until 2022, the Qatar national team had never qualified for the finals of the World Championships, but in 2022 they qualified as an organizer.
“We conceded 10 goals in qualifying and injuries often caused problems. Defensively we have few options and injuries to key players only add to the difficulties,” Lopez said.
According to him, players need to “give 200%.”
“Players are people too, and mistakes happen, and football can be merciless. We faced many challenges in preparing the team due to injuries. Our goal is to win and earn three points, which will be key to our qualification hopes. The players and everyone involved in the process understands this, and we hope that everything will work out in our favor. We will fight to the last to win,” the Qatari coach emphasized.
Lopez called Uzbekistan an “extremely difficult opponent” as the team performed well in the Asian qualifiers, with only Iran managing to snatch points from them.
“This is a strong team that concedes few goals and plays consistently with the same lineup. They have great players, especially their attacking trio. However, we will try to impose our style. We carefully studied the opponent and trained hard all last week. We will try to take advantage of their weaknesses. It will be a difficult match,” he said.
The captain of the national team, Eldor Shomurodov, said in an interview on November 12 that the team’s chances of reaching the World Cup are high. According to him, in the upcoming match against Qatar the team will try to earn three points. He also noted the readiness of all players, with the exception of Oston Urunov.
