Hosts Qatar played out a goalless draw against Oman in the opening Group A match of the fourth/playoffs round of the AFC Asian qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Wednesday.

Qatar pushed hard and came close to scoring a few times, but were thwarted by the solid Omani defence. With one point apiece, Qatar and Oman will next face the UAE. While Oman will take on UAE on Sunday, Qatar’s clash will happen three days later, on Tuesday.

Only the group winner will automatically progress to the FIFA World Cup 2026, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and USA.

Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui called Oman’s defence stubborn.

“We performed well throughout the match against a stubborn team that defended well and closed down spaces. Despite that, we created several opportunities but couldn’t convert them,” the Spaniard said during the post-match Press conference.

He said he had fielded the best Qatar team on the field.

“The starting lineup was ideal given the injuries, and all players gave their best to achieve the desired result. When you’ve the chances and you’re unable to take advantage, then you’ve to be humble and compete hard. It means that on a day you can’t win, you’ve to avoid the loss. We had the right mentality, so we’ve one point. We’ve to recover and face the next challenge,”he added.

“We’ll continue to pursue our dream of qualifying for the World Cup. The draw against Oman hasn’t negatively impacted the team or added pressure ahead of the UAE match on October 14,” said the coach.

Oman’s coach Carlos Queiroz said the stalemate was the best result for both sides.

“We performed well and managed to stop Qatar’s attacks, which we expected given they were playing at home,” said Queiroz.

“We knew the match would be tough, so we played with high spirit. Despite our solid defense, we also created chances but couldn’t score. A draw is the best result for both teams. A loss would’ve hurt our chances of World Cup qualification. We don’t have much time before facing the UAE, but we’ll prepare well to keep our World Cup dream alive,” he added.

Boualem Khoukhi missed an early chance to score for Qatar in the game’s 13th minute. Sultan Al Brake and Edmílson Junior also pushed early, but could not find much success.

Oman tested Qatar’s debutant goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada in the 27th when Issam Al Sabhi hit a powerful left-footed shot, but it was held well by the custodian.

Almoez Ali came on in the 57th minute for Ahmed Al Ganehi, but couldn’t do much to inspire Qatar to a win in front of home fans.

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