World Cup Story Feed
World Cup Story Feed
26 shots, 68% possession, xG 3.24. Any one of these stats alone would suggest a 3 0 rout script. The scoreboard at King Power Stadium reads 1 1.
26 shots, 68% possession, xG 3.24. Pick any stat, and it reads like a script for a 3-0 demolition. Yet the scoreboard at Levi's Stadium read 1-1.
Qatar spent 94 minutes earning their first World Cup point in history. Six days later, Canada poured in six goals against them. Another six days later, they lost 1-3 to Bosnia, finishing bottom of the group. Three matches, two goals scored, ten conceded, plus two red cards. That single point was their entire haul for the tournament.
The Swiss kept the ball in their hands. 575 passes to 275, 199 passes in the attacking third to 24, stats as pristine as a training session recording. But every back pass felt like a flattened heart monitor—rhythmic, yet directionless.
In the 17th minute, Embolo slotted the penalty. Freuler's shot on the turn drew a foul from the Qatari goalkeeper, the referee pointed to the spot, and the Swiss thought the massacre had begun. It turned out to be their only goal of the game.
For the remaining 77 minutes, Qatar dug in until their bones ached, and the Swiss attacked until their legs gave out. 26 shots set a new Swiss record for a single World Cup match since 1966. Seven on target, six big chances created—all blocked, saved, or blazed over. xG 3.24, translated into plain English: Switzerland wasted 2.24 goals, more than double Qatar's entire match xG (0.76). Lopetegui's low block had turned Swiss possession into a prayer bead.
Yakin didn't hide in the post-match press conference. "At the end of the day, we dropped two points," he said. "It really hurts." "Maybe I need to examine myself and my decisions." A coach publicly stating he needs to examine himself after a World Cup opener tells you exactly how toothless Switzerland were that day.
Lopetegui waited eight years for this World Cup. Two days before the 2018 tournament, the Spanish FA fired him. Spain were eliminated by Russia on penalties in the round of 16; Croatia, the eventual runners-up, awaited them in the quarter-finals. He kept that score for eight years.
On May 1, 2025, he signed with Qatar: a two-year contract, targeting the 2027 Asian Cup. A coach thrown out by a top club takes over a team that, four years earlier on home soil, lost all three group games, scored just one goal, and earned zero points. It's a setup even a third-rate screenwriter wouldn't dare to pen.
Then came the US-Iran war. Qatar's preparation plan was slashed. Their opponents trained methodically at the foot of the Alps, but their own schedule was shattered by geopolitics. The cards Lopetegui held were thin to begin with; with an off-field blow, the outcome of this World Cup was written before a ball was kicked.
90+4 minutes. Qatar corner. Al-Husseini rose in the crowd. The ball hit the net. The Qatari bench at Levi's Stadium erupted—their first World Cup goal in history! The commentators and several European media outlets credited Al-Husseini with the goal.
Then a FIFA technical committee document arrived. The goal was ruled an own goal by Swiss midfielder Muheim, under pressure from Al-Husseini.
A historic goal. Qataris celebrated for 94 minutes. Then a piece of paper erased it. They couldn't even claim the credit for scoring their first-ever World Cup goal.
Five days later, they moved on to Vancouver. 52,497 spectators watched Jonathan David score a hat-trick. Canada poured in six goals. Qatar picked up two more red cards. The 1 point earned against Switzerland on June 13 felt like a shot of adrenaline; once the effect wore off, the exhaustion hit harder.
Switzerland used them to top Group B, going on to beat Bosnia 4-1 and Canada 2-1, with Yakin clenching his fists. Canada used them to reach the World Cup knockout stage for the first time. Qatar's only purpose in this tournament was to serve as a stepping stone, leaving behind a receipt.
A squad built on naturalizations and petrodollars crashed against opponents with real discipline, and their pants fell faster than anyone's. Lopetegui signed a two-year contract, until the 2027 Asian Cup. One wonders if the Qatar Football Association, looking at the 2-for-10 ledger, thinks those two years are a bit too long.
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