Carlos Queiroz leaves Qatar role one month before Asian Cup defence
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Carlos Queiroz has parted ways with the team less than a year after signing a four-year contract to coach the Asian champions.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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DOHA – Qatar’s football association announced on Dec 6 it had terminated the contract of national team coach Carlos Queiroz, replacing him with Spain’s Marquez Lopez, without elaborating on the reasons behind the move.
The Portuguese has parted ways with the team less than a year after signing a four-year contract to coach the Asian champions
The former Real Madrid and Portugal coach, 70, took over as the long-term replacement for Felix Sanchez in February and was tasked with helping Qatar qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Sanchez’s contract was not renewed in late 2022 after the Qataris became the first World Cup hosts to lose all three group matches.
“The Qatar Football Association has announced that Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz’s tenure as head coach of the Qatar national team has ended amicably by mutual agreement between the two parties,” the QFA said in a statement.
“The QFA expresses its sincere gratitude to coach Queiroz for his unwavering dedication, leadership, and contributions during his tenure as the head coach of the national team. We wish him success in his future endeavours.”
The QFA has also announced Lopez as his successor. The Spaniard, 61, is currently in charge of Qatari club Al-Wakrah.
“The coach will be in charge of the Qatar national team at the 2023 Asian Cup, which will be hosted in Qatar next year,” said the QFA, adding its gratitude to Al-Wakrah for facilitating Lopez’s appointment for the continental championship.
Queiroz oversaw wins over Afghanistan (8-1) and India (3-0) in November in the second round of Asia’s qualifiers for the next World Cup, with the Qataris chasing one of eight berths available for teams from the continent at the expanded 48-team Finals.
Following the Afghanistan victory, Queiroz wrote on Instagram that his team’s performance had been “competent, serious and ambitious”.
“What’s next? We want to do more and better. We want to train and be better prepared... Now we start our pre-preparation camp for the Asian Cup,” added Queiroz, whose record with Qatar in 12 matches stands at five wins, two draws and five losses.
Qatar won their first Asian Cup under Sanchez in 2019 and the country is due to defend the trophy on home soil in January. The world No. 58 side have been drawn into Group A with China (79), Tajikistan (106) and Lebanon (107).
The Gulf nation is hosting the continental championship after initial hosts China relinquished the rights due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. REUTERS, AFP
