2026 World Cup: Probable line-ups for the Qatar – Switzerland clash

13.06.26 FT World Cup

Qatar

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Switzerland

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For their second appearance in a World Cup finals, Qatar will kick off their campaign against Switzerland, a team well accustomed to football’s biggest stage. The match is set for Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 19:00 GMT in California.

The Nati have a score to settle, having lost their only previous encounter with Al Annabi in a 2018 friendly by a single goal.

Qatar relies on a squad made up almost entirely of players from their domestic league. The only exception is Homam Ahmed, a defender with Cultural Leonesa in Spain’s second division.

The star of the team is Akram Afif, who has netted 39 goals in 125 appearances, but there are also other key players forming the backbone of the squad, such as Pedro Miguel, Mohammed Muntari, Al-Haydos, and Almoez Ali, Qatar’s all-time top scorer (55 goals, 115 caps).

Switzerland coach Murat Yakin will be able to count on his stars Zakaria, Xhaka, Sow, Jashari, Ndoye, Okafor, Embolo, and Amdouni to try to topple Qatar.

Here are the probable line-ups for both teams:

Qatar: Abunada - Al Oui, Pedro Miguel, Khoukhi, Al Amin - Gaber, Fathi, Laye - Edmilson Junior, Abdurisag, Afif.

Switzerland: Kobel - Zakaria, Akanji, Elvedi - Ndoye, Freuler, Xhaka, Rieder - Manzambi, Embolo, Vargas.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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