Doha, Qatar: Qatar head coach Marquez Lopez was left to count the cost of missed chances after the two-time Asian champions slumped to a disappointing 1-4 loss to Iran in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai on Tuesday. The loss leaves Qatar on four points from four games, six adrift of Iran and Uzbekistan, who currently occupy the two automatic qualifying spots in Group A, and at risk of missing out once again on a place at the finals. Despite a six-point gap between Qatar and the top two, Lopez is confident that his side can still reach the FIFA World Cup and called on his players to fight tooth and nail in the remaining matches to achieve their target.
“We congratulate the Iranian team on the victory, especially since they performed better than us,” said Lopez. “We started well and succeeded in scoring first, and had another opportunity to increase the lead. On the other hand, Iran had many chances, including one that hit the post, then they scored two goals.
On Tuesday, a brace apiece for Sardar Azmoun and Mohammed Mohebbi cancelled out Almoez Ali’s early strike to give Iran a comprehensive win Qatar have never qualified for the World Cup, only securing their place at the 2022 tournament as hosts, and the closest the nation has come to progressing through the preliminaries was ahead of France 1998 when they lost out to Saudi Arabia. The top two finishers in each of Asia’s three qualifying groups advance to the World Cup while the third and fourth-placed nation.