It was an eventful night for Qatar boss Julen Lopetegui on Tuesday as he celebrated qualification for the World Cup after being flattened by his own player smashing a ball in his face.
Qatar beat UAE 2-1 in Al Rayyan thanks to goals from Boualem Khoukhi and Pedro Miguel, which secured them top spot in their qualification group and a place at next summer’s tournament.
The country qualified as hosts of the last World Cup but this marks the first time Qatar has come through qualifying to reach the sport’s biggest event.
It was a joyful night for Lopetegui but also a painful one after being taken out by Qatar defender Assim Madibo on the touchline.
The manager was walloped from close range as Madibo booted the ball into his face.
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The Spanish manager hit the deck and briefly writhed in pain but popped back up pretty quickly and was fine to continue.
The victory followed a draw with Oman and was enough to secure a trip to the World Cup next summer.
Lopetegui, who managed Wolves and West Ham in the Premier League before taking charge of Qatar in May this year was delighted with the result and to progress to the showpiece tournament next year.
‘I’m very, very happy. Very proud. (It’s a) Unique achievement that never happened in the history of this country,’ he said.
‘I always thought when you are following a big dream, there is magic that happens (to make it come true). But you have to believe (to achieve it) and until then, we didn’t stop and we achieved it.
‘We are very happy and proud for the country, players and families.’
The 59-year-old also got to show off his dance skills after the victory, entertaining his players and the media with some silky moves.
The Qatar Football Association posted: ‘The manager is in total party mode!’
Also booking spots at the World Cup from the Asian qualifiers so far are Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordon, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.
UAE and Iraq now meet in a two-legged play-off in November, with the winner going on to the inter-confederation play-offs.
2026 World Cup teams qualified so far
Asia:
- Australia
- Iran
- Japan
- Jordan
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- South Korea
- Uzbekistan
Africa:
- Algeria
- Egypt
- Ghana
- Morocco
- South Africa
- Tunisia
- Cape Verde
North and Central America:
- Canada (co-host)
- Mexico (co-host)
- United States (co-host)
South America:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
Oceania:
- New Zealand
Europe:
- England