Qatar national under-23 football team

Qatar Under-23
NicknameAl-Annabi (The Maroons)
AssociationQatar Football Association
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationWAFF (West Asia)
Head coachIlídio Vale
Home stadiumKhalifa International Stadium
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium
FIFA codeQAT
First colours
Second colours
Biggest win
Qatar  13–0 Brunei
(Doha, Qatar; 3 September 2025)
Biggest defeat
Qatar  0–6 Uzbekistan
(Cibinong, Indonesia; 16 August 2018)
Qatar  0–6 Uzbekistan
(Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 4 June 2022)
Olympic Games
Appearances1 (first in 1992)
Best resultQuarter-finals (1992)
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
Appearances6 (first in 2016)
Best result Bronze Medal (2018)
Asian Games
Appearances5 (first in 2002)
Best result Gold Medal (2006)

The Qatar national under-23 football team (also known as Qatar Under-23 or Qatar Olympics Team) represents Qatar in international football competitions in GCC U-23 Championship and football at the Summer Olympics, as well as any other under-23 international football tournaments.

History

Compared to regional neighbours, Qatar has a decent record in Olympic football, with two prior Summer Olympics qualifications and a gold medal in the 2006 Asian Games.

In 1992, the Qatar U-23 squad dominated its Olympic qualifying campaign on the expense of Japan, China and Saudi Arabia. In the finals, the Qataris were given a tough draw next to host nation Spain, Colombia and Egypt. Qatar kicked off their matches at Barcelona with a crucial 1–0 win over fellow Arab nation Egypt, before registering a 1–1 draw with Colombia to secure a place in the knockout stage, turning the last group match against Spain into a formality.

A loss to Poland in the knockout stage fell a little bit short of rising expectations, but reaching it led to the country's best Olympic result.

When hosting the 2006 Asian Games, Qatar U-23 found itself with a double objective; to show that it was capable of hosting a major event of that caliber, and demonstrate that its football team was worthy of standing alongside Asia's elite. Tallying five wins throughout the tournament, Qatar's momentum escalated from one match to another, reaching its peak in the 2–0 final against Iraq.

Tournament records

Summer Olympics

Since 1992, Football at the Summer Olympics has been an Under-23 tournament.

Olympics Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
1992 Quarter-finals 8 4 1 1 2 2 5
1996 did not qualify
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
2028 to be determined
2032
Total 1/11 Best: 8th 4 1 1 2 2 5

U-23 Asian Cup

AFC U-23 Championship Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
2013 did not qualify
2016 Semi-finals 4th 6 4 0 2 13 10
2018 Third place 3rd 6 5 1 0 10 5
2020 Group stage 11th 3 0 3 0 3 3
2022 13th 3 0 2 1 3 9
2024 Quarter-finals 6th 4 2 1 1 6 5
2026 Qualified
Total 4/7 0 title(s) 22 11 7 4 35 32

Asian Games

Since 2002, Football at the Asian Games has been an Under-23 tournament.

Asian Games Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
2002 Group stage 11th 3 1 2 0 13 2
2006 Final  Gold 6 5 0 1 13 2
2010 Round of 16 9th 4 2 1 1 4 2
2014 Withdrew
2018 Group stage 21st 3 0 1 2 1 8
2022 Round of 16 16th 2 0 1 2 1 3
Total 5/6 1 title(s) 18 8 5 6 32 17

GCC U-23 Championship

GCC U-23 Championship Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
2008 Final group 3rd 4 1 2 1 8 5
2010 Semi-finals 4th 4 0 2 2 2 6
2011 4 1 0 3 3 9
Total 3/3 Best: 3rd 12 2 4 6 13 20

Recent results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Lose

2025

22 March Doha Cup Qatar  2–1  Thailand Doha, Qatar
21:15 UTC+3
25 March 2025 Doha International U-23 Cup Qatar  2–2  Australia Doha, Qatar
21:15 UTC+3
  • Al-Sharshani 76' (pen.)
  • Gouda 90+2'
Report Stadium: Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium
27 August 2025 (2025-08-27) Friendly Qatar  1–1  Sri Lanka Lusail, Qatar
18:00 UTC+3 Stadium: Lusail Stadium
3 September 2026 AFC U23 Q Qatar  13–0  Brunei Doha, Qatar
20:00 UTC+3
  • Asar 4', 23', 54', 58'
  • Al-Sharshani 6'
  • Hamza 11' (pen.)
  • Surag 13'
  • Al-Hussain 20'
  • Abdulaziz 35'
  • Tamer 56', 90+5'
  • Brimil 70', 83'
Report Stadium: Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium
Attendance: 204
Referee: Faisal Al-Balawi (Saudi Arabia)
6 September 2025 (2025-09-06) 2026 AFC U23 Q India  1–2  Qatar Doha, Qatar
20:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium
Attendance: 1143
Referee: Adam Kersey (Australia)
9 September 2026 AFC U23 Q Qatar  2–1  Bahrain Doha, Qatar
20:00 UTC+3
Report
  • Al-Khayyat 71'
Stadium: Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium
Attendance: 500
Referee: Fu Ming (China)
9 October Friendly Vietnam  0–1  Qatar Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
19:00 UTC+4 Report
  • 75'
Stadium: 321Sports
13 October Friendly Qatar  3–2  Vietnam Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
19:00 UTC+4
  • 10' (pen.)
  • 20'
  • 78'
Report Stadium: 321Sports

Coaching staff

Position Name
Team manager Mohammed Jaber Darman
Head coach Ilídio Vale
Assistant coach Joaquim Milheiro
Goalkeeping coach Silvinho Morais
Head of Football Physical Performance Sébastien Braillard
Team doctor Diogo Miranda Santos

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were named in the squad for the friendly tournament on the 30 May to 10 June 2025 window.[1]

Caps and goals correct as of 22 March, after the match against Thailand

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Ali Ghulais (2003-05-17) 17 May 2003 1 0 Al-Shamal
1GK Amir Hassan (2004-04-22) 22 April 2004 4 0 Al Duhail
1GK Abubaker Osman (2005-09-25) 25 September 2005 0 0 Calahorra

2DF Nabil Irfan (2004-02-07) 7 February 2004 8 0 Al-Wakrah
2DF Ahmed Reyed (2003-09-28) 28 September 2003 3 0 Al Ahli
2DF Ahmed Hagana (2003-11-30) 30 November 2003 2 0 Al-Khor
2DF Hassan Al-Ghareeb (2004-05-22) 22 May 2004 1 0 Lusail
2DF Marwan Sherif (2006-03-01) 1 March 2006 0 0 Al-Arabi
2DF Rayan Al-Ali (2006-03-26) 26 March 2006 0 0 Al-Gharafa
2DF Abdalla Mugib (2005-12-12) 12 December 2005 0 0 Al-Markhiya

3MF Fares Said (2003-01-07) 7 January 2003 7 0 Umm Salal
3MF Anas Abweny (2004-09-11) 11 September 2004 9 0 Al Shahaniya
3MF Abdulaziz Mohammed (2002-11-28) 28 November 2002 4 0 Al Shahaniya
3MF Jassem Al-Sharshani (2003-01-02) 2 January 2003 3 0 Al Ahli
3MF Moath Taha (2005-10-12) 12 October 2005 0 0 Calahorra
3MF Tameem Al-Qadi (2008-05-19) 19 May 2008 0 0 Al Sadd
3MF Mahdi Salem (2004-04-04) 4 April 2004 7 0 Al Sadd
3MF Yazan Mohamed (2008-10-16) 16 October 2008 0 0 Al-Duhail
3MF Mostafa El-Sayed (2004-08-26) 26 August 2004 2 1 Al-Rayyan

4FW Mubarak Shanan (2004-02-20) 20 February 2004 8 0 Al-Duhail
4FW Rashid Al-Abdulla (2004-02-21) 21 February 2004 1 1 Al-Duhail
4FW Mohamed Surag (2003-04-21) 21 April 2003 1 0 Al-Rayyan

Previous squads

Managers

Period Manager
1998–1999 Jo Bonfrère
1999–2000 José Paulo
2003 Alex Dupont
2007 Hassan Hormatallah
2011–2012 Paulo Autuori
2012–2013 Alain Perrin
2013 Marcel van Buuren
2013–2014 Julio César Moreno
2014–2017 Fahad Thani
2017–2020 Félix Sánchez
2020–2022 Nicolás Córdova
2023– Ilídio Vale

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Qatar national under-23 football team's head-to-head record in the Football at the Summer Olympics and AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

See also

References

  1. ^ "List of our U-23 national team called up for the international friendly tournament". Facebook. Qatar Football Association. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.