Qatar captain Hassan Al Haydos announces retirement from international football
Qatar football team captain Hassan Al Haydos, who attained legendary status by leading his home nation to back-to-back AFC Asian Cup title wins in 2019 and 2023, announced his retirement from international football on Friday.
The 33-year-old striker, confirmed his retirement by posting a video story on his official Instagram page. In the video, he is seen sitting next to Qatar national team coach Tintín Marquez and addressing a group.
“You’re all heroes, and you’ve an important task ahead of you, to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in Qatar’s history. We all have confidence in you,” he is seen saying to what is likely his Qatar national team-mates.
@bo7md6_ reported yesterday that Hassan Al Haydos was set to announce his retirement from international football ahead of the upcoming matchday, and the Qatar captain posted a video story late into the night seemingly confirming it… pic.twitter.com/DbVTEFMaod
— Qatar Football Live (@QFootLive) March 16, 2024
Qatar is set to play Kuwait in the third round of the joint 2026 FIFA World Cup & 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Friday.
Al Haydos, who debuted with the Qatar Olympic team in 2007, came off the bench to score a late goal against Japan at the 2008 Beijing Olympic qualifiers. He helped his team salvage a 2-1 win.
Al Haydos’s senior national team debut came during a qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, against Bahrain, on September 10, 2008. He has since made 181 appearances for the national team and scored 41 goals, making him the most capped Qatari footballer ever and the fifth-highest goalscorer.
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