For the third time in World Cup history, a current host will face the host of the previous tournament when Canada takes on Qatar on Thursday.
France (1938 hosts) played Italy (1934) in a quarterfinal match, with Italy winning 3-1 and going on to hoist the Cup. It happened again in 1954 when Switzerland faced Brazil (1950) in the group stage, with the Canarinho winning 4-0.
Both Canada and Qatar lack the resumes of any of those countries. Both went winless in 2022, with the Qataris losing to Ecuador (2-0), Senegal (3-1) and the Netherlands (2-0).
Qatar's Historic Point
Qatar qualified for 2026 on merit, and then — just as Canada did — recorded their first Cup point when they posted their staggering draw with Switzerland.
"We are very proud of ourselves. First point in world history," said Qatar winger Akram Afif. "Hopefully we can get the next game three points, so it will be double history."
Qatar made no excuses for their game plan — their listed 4-4-2 was more of a five- or six-man backline at times, as they ceded possession to the Swiss (60 per cent) and soaked up the pressure. Switzerland had reams of chances, outshooting them 26-6, an expected goals of 3.2 and 42 touches inside the Qatar penalty area, but couldn't solve the Qatari wall nor keeper Mahmud Abunada — named man of the match after a five-save performance. All they could muster was a 17th-minute Breel Embolo penalty.
Out of possession, Qatar spent nearly half the game in a low (47 per cent) or mid (17) block and didn't try to press the Swiss with a high line once.
"As you know, it was very, very difficult to play against Swiss. They are a top national team. They had the experience more than us," said Afif. "Our aim was to play a long match, as long as we can, to score maybe in the last minute, maybe to have one counterattack, and that's what we had."
"It doesn't matter if we defend with 10 or we defend with which one — the most important that we get positive results."
Qatar had just three shots on target, though bolstering for them, all came inside the box. They tried one cross all game — and scored off of it in the 94th minute — when Miro Muheim redirected the ball into the goal under heavy pressure from Boualem Khoukhi.
"Small mistakes make the difference," said Abunada.
When asked what they can improve on, after recording the first Cup point in the country's history, Afif said: "What we can do better is to win. It will not be easy (against Canada), but, as you know, that it wasn't easy (against Switzerland)."
