Qatar
- Mubarak Mustafa – Goals: 41
- Almoez Ali – Goals: 39
- Sebastian Soria – Goals: 38
- Hassan Al-Haydos – Goals: 33
- Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi – Goals: 32
As of May 2022, Mubarak Mustafa is Qatar’s leading scorer and the forward was part of the first Qatar team to win a trophy in 1992. Some other players from that “golden generation” include midfielder Khalid Salman, defender Adel Khamis and Mahmoud Soufi.
Almoez Ali is well on his way to breaking Mustafa’s record and has two Golden Boot wins at major tournaments to boot.
Winger Akram Afif is one of the most heralded prospects to ever come out of Qatar. His performances in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup helped him win the 2019 Asian Footballer of the Year.
Another winger, Khalfan Ibrahim, became the first player to win the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 2006. He’s sometimes called the “Maradona of Qatar” for his dribbling exploits and played for the national team from 2006-2015.
Forward Hassan al-Haydos has made by far the most appearances of any Qatar National team player and he’s a top five leading scorer.
Qatar National Football Team History
Qatar is relatively new to the international soccer scene as the Qatar Football Federation wasn’t established until 1960. The federation joined FIFA in 1970 and the Qatar national football team dropped its first international 2-1 to Bahrain.
The Maroon won their first match four years later with a 4-0 win over Oman in the Gulf Cup. Qatar national football team finished in third place, which was their best showing in the Gulf Cup until 1984. They took Iraq to extra time and penalties in the final but fell 4-3 in the latter.
One of Qatar’s most impressive wins came in the 1988 Asian Cup as it defeated Japan by a 3-0 scoreline. Defender Adel Khamis scored a double in the match but hosts Qatar national football team finished third out of five in their group.
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Qatar National Football Team Records
The 1990’s marked the best period for the national team up to that point. The Maroon finished atop their group in the first round of 1990 World Cup qualifying, however, they finished below the UAE and South Korea in the final round to miss out on the World Cup.
Qatar national football team won its first trophy in 1992 as they won the Gulf Cup despite losing their last match at the competition. The Marron were also runners-up in the 1996 and 1998 editions of the tournament.
They were also one win away from qualifying for France 1998 but lost 1-0 to Saudi Arabia in their final match. After years of managing club teams in Qatar, Bosnian Džemaludin Mušović was named Qatar’s head coach in 2004 and he immediately led the Maroon to a 2004 Gulf Cup victory.
Qatar were criticized for its lax naturalization policies that allowed several Brazilian-born players to compete for the National team. As a result, FIFA tightened its eligibility restrictions for national team players. Even so, Qatar found success in the 2010’s.
In 2010, Qatar was named as hosts for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, spurring a wave of investment in soccer in the country. The Qatar World Cup is to be the first in the Middle East. In 2014, the Maroon won both the WAFF Cup and the Gulf Cup. In the latter, Qatar completed a comeback win vs. Saudi Arabia in Riyadh to lift the trophy for a third time.
Failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Qatar will become the first team since Italy in 1934 whose first FIFA World Cup match will be on home soil; however, the Maroon made an improbable run to win the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and take home their first major international trophy.
Qatar national football team only conceded one goal throughout the whole tournament and picked up wins over powers Saudi Arabia and Japan. Almoez Ali finished the tournament as golden boot winner and Saad Al Sheeb was named best GK. Qatar were invited to the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup and impressively made the semifinals. Ali was the top scorer in a second straight major tournament.
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