Julen Lopetegui, Spanish football manager formerly at West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sevilla, and Real Madrid, was appointed head manager of Qatar's national team in May 2025. His goal was clear: to take Qatar to World Cup 2026. And he succeeded, leading Group A in the fourth round of the AFC World Cup qualifiers, defeating United Arab Emirates 2-1.
It is the second time Qatar plays in a World Cup, but in 2022, they only qualified by virtue of being the host country, and then went on to lose all three group stages matches, scoring only one goal. Improving that result will be Lopetegui's next assignment, who has a contract running until 2027, after the next Asian Cup.
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Lopetegui follows a series of Spanish managers that find a home in Qatar, succeeding Luis García and Tintín Márquez. Lopetegui previously coached Spain, and was about to take them to 2018 World Cup in Russia, but was dismissed right before the competition when it was known that he had signed for Real Madrid. This will be his first time leading a team into a World Cup.