Qatar national under-20 football team
| Association | Qatar Football Association | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Sub-confederation | WAFF (West Asia) | ||
| Head coach |
 Félix Sánchez | ||
| Home stadium | Khalifa International Stadium, Jassim bin Hamad Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | QAT | ||
| |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Qatar 13-0  Bhutan(Doha, Qatar; 8 November 2007) | |||
| FIFA U-20 World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 3 (first in 1981) | ||
| Best result | Runners-up (1981) | ||
| AFC U-19 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 13 (first in 1980) | ||
| Best result | Champions: 2014 | ||
The Qatar national under-20 football team is the national youth team of Qatar and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association. Qatar's U-20 national team played an important role in the development of football in Qatar and gave it one its first shining moment on the global stage when the youth squad finished second in the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia.
History
Formation
In response to the recently established World Youth Championship, Qatar established its national youth team in 1976. However, they were unable to qualify for the first two World Youth Championships in 1977 in Tunisia and in 1979 in Japan.[1]
1981 World Youth Championship
In the 1980 AFC Youth Championship which were held in Thailand, Qatar U20s finished as runners-up after losing to South Korea in the final. This granted them a spot in the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, which was hosted in Australia. Under the supervision of Brazilian coach Evaristo de Macedo, the championships proved to be a success. Facing Brazil in the quarter-finals, they were able to secure a 3–2 victory by utilizing the offside trap. They went on to face England in the semi-finals, where they earned a 2–1 victory after a fine performance by their goalkeeper.[1]
The team finished second after losing 0–4 to West Germany in the final on a wet pitch which was unfavorable to the Qataris as they were not used to playing in such conditions.[1] As a result of achieving runners-up position, each Qatari player received 100,000 Qatari riyals, a Mercedes Benz, and a bungalow. The population of Qataris was only 120,000 at the time of this achievement.[2]
1995 World Youth Championship
Qatar earned its second international U-20 World Cup appearance in 1995 as hosts. While Nigeria was preparing to host the 1995 edition, an Ebola epidemic broke out in west Africa, and as a result, FIFA decided to award the hosting rights to Qatar with only twenty days remaining till the start of the championships.[1]
2014 AFC U-19 Championship
Qatar's youth team won the AFC U-19 Championship for the first time in its history after defeating DPR Korea 1–0 in the final of the 2014 edition which took place in Myanmar.[3] Advancing undefeated from a group which included DPR Korea and Iraq, they defeated China 4–2 in the quarter-finals, and earned a 3–2 victory after extra time against the hosts in the semi-finals. In the finals, the Qataris would be victorious against DPR Korea for a second time in the tournament, with super sub Akram Afif scoring the only goal of the match in the second half. The entire squad was composed of Aspire Academy students. As a result of Aspire's HOPE Project (Holistic Overseas Player Experience), most of the squad were European-based.[4]
Competitive record
AFC U-19 Championship record
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FIFA U-20 World Cup
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- Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Current squad
The following players were selected to take part in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Head coach: Félix Sánchez Bas
| # | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Yousef Hassan | 24 May 1996 (aged 19) | Al Gharafa
| ||
| 2 | DF | Tameem Al-Muhizea | 21 July 1996 (aged 18) | Al-Gharafa
| ||
| 3 | DF | Fahad Al-Abdulrahman | 6 April 1995 (aged 20) | .svg.png){kind=small} Eupen
| ||
| 4 | MF | Abdullah Ali | 10 May 1997 (aged 18) | Lekhwiya
| ||
| 5 | DF | Serigne Abdou | 28 February 1995 (aged 20) | Al-Khor
| ||
| 6 | DF | Salem Al-Hajri | 10 April 1996 (aged 19) | Eupen
| ||
| 7 | FW | Jassem Al-Jalabi | 21 February 1996 (aged 19) | Al-Wakra
| ||
| 8 | MF | Ahmed Moein | 20 October 1995 (aged 19) | El Jaish
| ||
| 9 | MF | Said Brahmi | 11 July 1995 (aged 19) | Al-Khor
| ||
| 10 | MF | Akram Afif | 11 February 1995 (aged 20) | Eupen
| ||
| 11 | DF | Sultan Al Kuwari | 3 August 1995 (aged 19) | Al-Sailiya
| ||
| 12 | DF | Jassem Omar | 18 April 1995 (aged 20) |  LASK Linz
| ||
| 13 | GK | Mohammed Al Bakari | 28 March 1997 (aged 18) | Lekhwiya
| ||
| 14 | MF | Ahmed Al Saadi | 29 October 1995 (aged 19) | Eupen
| ||
| 15 | DF | Sultan Al-Breki | 7 April 1996 (aged 19) | Al-Wakra
| ||
| 16 | MF | Abdurahman Enad | 6 September 1996 (aged 18) | Al-Rayyan
| ||
| 17 | DF | Bashim Al-Rawi | 16 December 1997 (aged 17) | Al-Rayyan
| ||
| 18 | MF | Assim Madibo | 22 October 1996 (aged 18) | LASK Linz
| ||
| 19 | FW | Almoez Ali | 19 August 1996 (aged 18) | LASK Linz
| ||
| 20 | MF | Tarek Salman | 5 December 1997 (aged 17) | Lekhwiya
| ||
| 21 | GK | Yazan Naim | 5 June 1997 (aged 17) | Al-Ahli |
Coaching staff
Assistant coach: 
Hedider Abderrazak
Goalkeeping coach: Younes Ahmed
Managerial history
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References
- 1 2 3 4 "U20 Profile". Qatar Football Association. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015.
- ↑ "Mercedes, $15,000 and bungalow each is Qatar's way". Singapore Monitor. 12 April 1984. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ↑ "Qatar colts crowned Asian champions". dohastadiumplusqatar.com. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ↑ "CHAMP Magazine". Aspire. p. 24. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
External links
See also
- Qatar national football team
- Qatar national under-17 football team
- Football in Qatar
- AFC Youth Championship
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