Coach Lopez optimistic despite Qatar’s loss to Iran

Qatar head coach Marquez Lopez was left to count the cost of missed chances after the two-time Asian champions slumped to a disappointing 1-4 loss to Iran in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai on Tuesday.
The loss leaves Qatar on four points from four games, six adrift of Iran and Uzbekistan, who currently occupy the two automatic qualifying spots in Group A, and at risk of missing out once again on a place at the finals.
Despite a six-point gap between Qatar and the top two, Lopez is confident that his side can still reach the FIFA World Cup and called on his players to fight tooth and nail in the remaining matches to achieve their target.
“We congratulate the Iranian team on the victory, especially since they performed better than us,” said Lopez. “We started well and succeeded in scoring first, and had another opportunity to increase the lead. On the other hand, Iran had many chances, including one that hit the post, then they scored two goals.”
On Tuesday, a brace apiece for Sardar Azmoun and Mohammed Mohebbi cancelled out Almoez Ali’s early strike to give Iran a comprehensive win.
Qatar have never qualified for the World Cup, only securing their place at the 2022 tournament as hosts, and the closest the nation has come to progressing through the preliminaries was ahead of France 1998 when they lost out to Saudi Arabia.
The top two finishers in each of Asia’s three qualifying groups advance to the World Cup while the third and fourth-placed nations progress to a further round of preliminaries.
“Our goal has not changed, which is to qualify for the World Cup,” Lopez said. “The opportunity is still there, although the group includes good teams such as Uzbekistan and Iran.
“The mission is not easy, but the opportunity to qualify is available and we have to fight for our chances until the last breath. There are still matches and many points that we must work hard to get.”
Qatar are fourth in Group A, level on four points with the third-placed United Arab Emirates and one point ahead of Kyrgyzstan who are fifth. They next host Uzbekistan on November 14.
Meanwhile, Qatar defender Lucas Mendes has called on his teammates to make rapid improvements to revive their challenge for a place at the 2026 World Cup. “It was a tough game but we know the Iranians are very strong, they have very good players (who are) at a high level,” said Brazil-born defender. “It’s a bad start for us but still we have six games left. We need to change our level. Many mistakes, we need to improve.”
Iran’s coach Amir Ghalenoei said he will always fondly remember Iran’s over Qatar. “I think it was one of our good days,” said Ghalenoei. “We scored four goals and had several other opportunities. Overall, it was a very good game. It was one of the best games of the group that Asia enjoyed. This win will help us further. We can rejoice for a day or two and then we have to think about the next games with Kyrgyzstan and North Korea. I hope we can make Iranian people happy with more good games.”
Striker Azmoun said: “It was a really important three points. It was a really easy game for us. We didn’t expect that the game would go like that.”