Qatar name preliminary 34-man squad for 2026 World Cup

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Football Association has announced a preliminary squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as the Gulf nation prepares for the tournament to be staged in North America from June 11 to July 19. amunra.qpon

The 34-player squad, selected by Spanish head coach Julen Lopetegui, combines experienced international players with a number of younger talents as Qatar look to build on their recent appearances on the global stage.

Among the most prominent names included are captain Hassan Al Haydos, forward Akram Afif, striker Almoez Ali and defender Pedro Miguel.

The full squad also includes Meshaal Barsham, Mahmoud Abu Nada, Salah Zakaria, Shehab Al Laithi, Ahmed Al Janahi, Ahmed Alaa, Ahmed Fathi, Tarek Salman, Edmilson Junior, Ayoub Al Lawati, Sultan Al Brake, Al Hashmi Al Hussein, Boualem Khoukhi, Bassam Al Rawi, Jassim Jaber, Nail Mason, Sebastian Soria, Ryan Al Ali, Assim Madibo, Abdulaziz Hatem, Issa Laay, Mohammed Manai, Karim Boudiaf, Lucas Mendes, Tahseen Mohammed, Mubarak Shanan, Homam Al Amin, Youssef Abdurisag, Mohammed Muntari and Mohammed Waad.

Qatar are scheduled to hold a training camp later this month, which will include two friendly matches aimed at fine-tuning preparations ahead of the tournament. They will face Republic of Ireland on May 28 before taking on El Salvador in Los Angeles on June 6.

The Qataris will begin their World Cup campaign against Switzerland in San Francisco on June 13 before facing hosts Canada in Vancouver on June 18 and concluding their group-stage fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Seattle on June 24.

الأخبارألمانيا تكتسح كوراساو بسباعيةحقق منتخب ألمانيا فوزاً كبيراً على كوراساو بنتيجة 7-1 في اللقاء الذي جمع بينهما امس ضمن منافسات الجولة الأولى للمجموعة الخامسة في كأس العالم 2026. سجل أهداف المنتخب الألماني كل ...فتح →

The 2026 tournament will be the first FIFA World Cup to feature 48 teams and to be jointly hosted by three countries - the United States, Canada and Mexico.

London: Arsenal defender Ben White will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, ruling him out of the club's Premier League run-in and the Champions League final, the club confirmed on Tuesday.

The medial knee ligament injury also means the 28-year-old is highly unlikely to feature for England in the World Cup in North America, which starts next month.

White left the London Stadium with a brace on his right knee after he was substituted in the first half of Arsenal's crucial 1-0 win against West Ham on Sunday.

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta admitted shortly afterwards that White's injury "didn't look good at all", and the Premier League leaders have now confirmed he will be unavailable for their final two league games, and their European final against Paris Saint-Germain on May 30.

"Assessments and specialist reviews have confirmed that Ben White has sustained a significant medial knee ligament injury, which will rule him out for the remainder of this season," Arsenal said in a statement.

"Our medical team are now managing Ben's recovery and rehabilitation programme, with everyone fully focused on supporting the aim of Ben being ready for the start of our pre-season preparations."

White's absence will provide Arteta with a selection headache at right-back for their pivotal games against Burnley, Crystal Palace and PSG, with Jurrien Timber also sidelined.

Arsenal, on track for their first Premier League title since 2004, are five points clear of Manchester City having played a game more.

Doha, Qatar: The Organising Committee of the 4th GCC Games Doha 2026 hosted a luncheon in honour of Vice Presidents and Secretaries General of the GCC Olympic Committees, heads of administrative and sporting delegations as well as partners.

The luncheon followed a gracious invitation extended by Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and Vice Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Games Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain.

During the event, Al Buenain expressing pride in the distinguished Gulf participation and the close cooperation among the Gulf Olympic Committees.

He affirmed that Doha 2026 represents a new milestone in the journey of joint Gulf sports cooperation and reflects the growing stature of Gulf sport on both the regional and international stages before wishing all participating teams every success during the Games.

The luncheon was also attended by QOC Second Vice-President Dr. Thani Abdulrahman Al-Kuwari and QOC Sports Sector Director and Director General of the Organising Committee Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid Al Thani.

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Stars League, in co-operation with Qatar Football Association, held a workshop for clubs as part of preparations for the 2026-2027 football season.

Representatives from the QSL, QFA, Qatar Stars League clubs and Second Division clubs attended the meeting, which focused on the latest developments, decisions and the upcoming phase of competitions.

The workshop addressed the new phase of QSL and QSL 2 competitions, providing an overview of the strategy aimed at continuing development and enhancing competitiveness among clubs, ultimately serving the best interests of Qatar football, its championships and national teams.

The workshop also reviewed and clarified the new decisions, which include: cancellation of Olympic League and Second Division League, and the launch of a new competition called QSL 2.

This new competition will be played on a home-and-away format and will include Second Division clubs, Under-23 national team and ‘B’ teams of some First Division clubs that meet the participation requirements and criteria.

The meeting also clarified the participation mechanism and the number of foreign professional players permitted, based on the new regulations. These regulations permit each First Division club to field a maximum of five foreign professional players, in addition to at least two talented players, within the 11-man squad at any point during a match.

Regarding QSL 2, eight foreign professional players are allowed within the 11-man squad at any point during a match.

The meeting addressed several inquiries and questions from club representatives, providing necessary clarifications regarding the new regulations and their implementation mechanisms.

This aims to support club readiness and achieve the highest levels of technical and administrative organisation for competitions.