Qatar is flying high in respect to the World Cup being hosted brilliantly. Not only that, Qatar has won back-to-back Asian Cup titles, which marks a moment of joy and celebration for Qatari fans.
The final was played between Qatar and Jordan in Doha, which went right down the wire with Qatar finishing as the elusive winner. There is much more to talk about.
Qatar Celebrates Back-to-Back Asian Cup Titles
Victory Over Jordan in Doha
The year 2024 for Qatar, was full of surprises and good news. The team was able to win the Asian Cup title. Much to the delight of Qatari fans, the Qatar team was able to defeat Jordan in the final at the Lusail Stadium in Doha.
The scoreline in the finals read 3-1 with the captain converting all of the 3 penalties to get the continental title for the second time in a row. A total of 86,492 fans were present in the final where Jordan lost the game.
There was some hope from Yazan Al Naimat with the equalising goal, but Akram Afif had other ideas for the guests. Akram was unstoppable and was thrown up in the air with delight after the title win.
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Akram Afif: Top Scorer and Asian Player of the Year
There is no doubt that Akram Afif is one of the finest players in the Asian circuit, at the moment. The talent of the man has been hard to define.
Even in Asian Cup 2024, he went on to score 8 goals and also be the “Player of the Tournament.” Jordan didn’t have an answer for the star player and captain of Qatar in the finals.
To the readers unaware, this is the second Asian “Player of the Year” award for Afif, enough to talk about his achievements and talent. If Qatar qualifies for their consecutive World Cup, it will be on the back of Akram Afif.
Qatar’s World Cup Hopes and Coaching Change
There were poor performances from the Qatar team in the qualification to the World Cup. They had lost some crucial games and put their hopes of playing the World Cup 2025 in jeopardy.
However, their recent title run in the Asian Cup has shown some positive results. After the poor showing in the World Cup qualifiers, Qatar left out Marquez Lopez on 11th December, 2024.
The change in coach came after bad football play. Interestingly, his assistant coach Luis Garcia was named the full-time coach. This decision came through immediately after Lopez was fired.
Saudi Arabia Named Host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup
There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia will host the FIFA World Cup 2034. As controversial and criticised this decision might sound, but the drums have already been played.
Saudi Arabia might have been selected, but human rights issues, discriminatory factors along with lack of infrastructure have been considered as the main reasons for Saudi making the wrong decision.
48 teams will take part in the FIFA World Cup 2034 and it will be played over a long period. Looking at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Saudi Arabia needs to learn what they can do better for the fans and viewing experience.
World Cup Qualifying Highlights
The World Cup qualifying highlights have been a miscalculated affair. The most recent set of games took place on the 20th November 2024.
With a good number of audience attendance at every game, it was Ecuador, Argentina, and Chile, that turned out to be victorious. Meanwhile teams like Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay did play out a draw.
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