Qatar national under-23 football team

Qatar Under-23
Nickname(s) Annabi (The Maroon)
Association Qatar Football Association
Sub-confederation WAFF (West Asia)
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Head coach Fahad Thani
Home stadium Khalifa International Stadium, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium
FIFA code QAT
First colours
Second colours
Asian Games
Appearances 3 (First in 2002)
Best result Winners (2006)

Qatar national under-23 football team (also known as Qatar Under-23 or Qatar Olympics Team) represents Qatar in international football competitions in Gulf Cup of Nations Under 23 and Football at the Summer Olympics, as well as any other under-23 international football tournaments.

History

Compared to regional neighbors; Qatar has a decent record to show for in Olympic football, with two prior Summer Olympics qualifications and a gold medal in the 2006 Asian games.

Qatar’s first attempt to compete in the Olympic level proved fruitful, they cruised past Jordan and Syria in the preliminary stages of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, then finished atop of Group B in the final qualifications round after beating Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and Iraq.

Qatar’s Olympic debut under Brazilian legend Evaristo de Macedo came as stunning as it gets, a 2-2 draw with a Platini captained France (who went on to claim the gold medal eventually), sent ripples of shock across the football world, however; suffering two defeats to Chile and Norway deprived the first timers of a last 16 berth.

Eight years later, a new young squad dominated its qualifying campaign on the expense of Japan, China and Saudi Arabia, in the finals; the Qataris were given a tough draw next to host nation Spain, Colombia and Egypt. Qatar kicked off their matches at Barcelona with a crucial 1-0 win over fellow Arab nation Egypt, before registering a 1-1 draw with Colombia to secure a place in the knockout stage, turning the last group match against Spain into a formality.

A loss to Poland in the second stage fell a little bit short of rising expectations, but reaching the second stage led to the country’s best Olympic result.

When hosting the 2006 Asian Games, Qatar found itself with a double objective; to show that it was capable of hosting a major event of that caliber, and demonstrate that its football team was worthy of standing alongside Asia’s elite.

Undefeated throughout the whole tournament; Qatar’s momentum escalated from one match to another, reaching its peak in the 2-0 final against Iraq.

Tournament records

Summer Olympics

Since 1992, football at the Summer Olympics changes into Under-23 tournament.

Olympics Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
Spain 1992 Quarter-finals - 4 1 1 2 2 5
United States 1996 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
Australia 2000 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
Greece 2004 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
China 2008 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
United Kingdom 2012 Did not qualify - - - - - - -

U-22 Asian Cup

AFC U-22 Asian Cup Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
2013 Did not qualify - - - - - - -

Asian Games

Since 2002, football at the Asian Games changes into Under-23 tournament.

Asian Games Record
Year Round GP W D L GS GA
South Korea 2002Group stage3120132
Qatar 2006Champions6501132
China 2010Round of 16421142
South Korea 2014Withdrew------

Gulf Cup of Nations

Gulf Cup of Nations Under 23 Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
Saudi Arabia 2008 Final group 3rd 4 1 2 1 8 5
Qatar 2010 Semi-finals 4th 4 0 2 2 2 6
Qatar 2011 Semi-finals 4th 4 1 0 3 3 9

Current squad

Head coach: Qatar Fahad Thani

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club
1 GK Salam Fawaz 10 January 1991 Qatar Qatar SC
18 GK Ahmed Soufiane 9 August 1990 Qatar Al Wakrah
22 GK Muhannad Naim 28 January 1993 4 Belgium Eupen
4 DF Almahdi Ali Mukhtari 2 March 1992 Qatar Al Sadd
3 DF Abdul Ghafoor Murad 12 March 1989 Qatar Al Rayyan
5 DF Mohammed Al Rabeei 29 April 1990 Qatar Qatar SC
7 DF Khalid Muftah 2 June 1992 Qatar Lekhwiya
17 DF Nasser Nabeel 11 February 1990 Qatar Al Sadd
6 MF Abdulaziz Hatem 1 January 1985 Qatar Al Arabi
8 MF Nasser Khalfan 17 October 1993 Qatar Al Arabi
12 MF Abdulla Afifa 4 May 1991 Qatar Al Rayyan
16 MF Saleh Al Yazidi 10 February 1993 Qatar Al Sadd
69 MF Don Dealio 13 December 1990 5 United Arab Emirates Al Ain
9 FW Muayed Hassan Fadli 28 January 1992 Qatar Al Gharafa
10 FW Hassan Al Haidos (Captain) 11 December 1990 Qatar Al Sadd
11 FW Mohammed Elneel 1 January 1991 Qatar Al Rayyan
13 FW Ahmed Alaaeldin 31 January 1993 Qatar Al Rayyan
14 FW Fahad Khalfan 23 March 1992 Qatar Al Rayyan

Former managers

Period Manager
1998–1999Netherlands Jo Bonfrere
1999–2000Brazil José Paulo
2003France Alex Dupont
2007Morocco Hassan Hormatallah
2011–2012Brazil Paulo Autuori
2012–2013France Alain Perrin
2013Netherlands Marcel Van Buuren
2013–14Chile Julio César Moreno
2014–Qatar Fahad Thani

See also