AICHI-NAGOYA, Japan : Qatar’s Olympic football team will begin its 2026 Asian Games campaign against South Korea at Mizuho Park Stadium in Aichi-Nagoya.
The match is in Group D, which also includes Saudi Arabia. The football tournament features 15 teams divided into four groups, with three groups containing four teams and Group D comprising three.
The group stage will be played in a single round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarter-finals. The competition will then continue through the semi-finals, final and third-place playoff.
South Korea are the record holders in Asian Games football with six gold medals and will be seeking a fourth consecutive title after winning in 2014, 2018 and 2022. Qatar won the football gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games.
Qatar Under-23 head coach Jose Angel Lacunza selected a 23-player squad for the tournament.
The squad includes goalkeepers Abubakar Mohammed, Jalal Amir and Mohammed Fawzi, along with Mohammed Hani, Faisal Mohammed, Yaman Jarrar, Bassam Adel, Zaid Burhan, Ali Shehabi, Alwaleed Mohammed, Atef Magdy, Jassim Al Hamad, Mohammed Ali, Muath Ibrahim, Yousef Mohammed, Nawaf Al Yahri, Tamim Al Qadi, Ziad Fadi, Qais Al Rawi, Nasser Adel, Mohammed Khaled, Marwan Sherif and Ghanem Al Menhali.
The Qatar delegation travelled from Doha to Aichi-Nagoya on Friday and began preparations for the opening match.
Qatar are competing at the 20th Asian Games with a delegation of 243 athletes, comprising 184 men and 59 women, across 18 sports federations.
The Asian Games officially run from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. At the 2023 edition in Hangzhou, China, Qatar won 14 medals, including five gold, six silver and three bronze.
