On Thursday, Afghanistan will go head-to-head with Qatar in a 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium in Saudi Arabia.
The designated hosts are battling to secure second spot in Group A, while Qatar are already looking forward to the next round after taking maximum points from their fourth matches.
Match preview
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Afghanistan's bid to reach their first World Cup finals began with a 2-0 aggregate victory in the first round of qualifying.
The second stage got off to a disastrous start as they fell to a heavy 8-1 defeat to Qatar and a 4-0 loss against Kuwait.
Afghanistan finally got on the board with a goalless draw against India, before they came from a goal down to record a narrow 2-1 victory in the return fixture against the same side.
Having taken four points from their last two matches, Ashley Westwood's side are sitting in third position and level on points with India in second place.
Due to their poor goal difference, Afghanistan know that a defeat against Qatar combined with an India win will leave their qualifying hopes hanging by a thread.
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After hosting the World Cup 2022, Qatar are hoping to make their second finals appearance at the 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Qatar have proved to be a class above their opponents in Group A, having secured their place in the third round with two games left to play.
They began their qualifying campaign with commanding wins over Afghanistan and India, before they went on to enjoy success at the 2024 Asian Cup, going all the way to win the trophy on home soil.
Qatar then returned to qualifying action with consecutive victories over Kuwait, recording a comfortable 3-0 win in the home contest and a narrow 2-1 victory in the return fixture.
Although they may have little to play for, Qatar will still be determined to extend their nine-game unbeaten run in their next two matches against Afghanistan and India.
Team News
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Najm Haidary and Hossein Zamani were previously part of a boycott against alleged corruption in the Afghanistan Football Federation, but the pair have returned to the setup for the upcoming qualifiers against Qatar and Kuwait.
Akbari will try to offer a goal threat from midfield after scoring his first international goal in the previous international break.
As for Qatar, Marquez has decided to call up a number of uncapped players, with his side already assured of a place in the next stage of qualifying.
However, the squad still contains some experience in the shape of Saad Al-Sheeb, Homam Al-Amin, Ahmed Fathi, Abdullah Al-Ahrak and Yusuf Abdurisag.
Afghanistan possible starting lineup:
Azizi; Hanifi, Mukhammad, Amiri, Askar; Ahadi, Nazary, Akbari, Skandari; Sharza, Popalzay
Qatar possible starting lineup:
Al-Sheeb; Al-Yazidi, Yousif, Aymen, Al-Amin; Fathy, Mashaal; Al-Ganehi, Al-Mejaba, Abdurisag; Al-Rawi
We say: Afghanistan 1-4 Qatar
Qatar cruised to victory in November's reverse fixture, and while they have named a relatively inexperienced squad, we still think that they will produce a dominant display to claim a comfortable victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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