Latest news with #JulenLopetegui
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Al Annabi continue to train at camp in Austria
The Qatar national football team continues extensive training at their overseas camp in Austria, which began on July 11 and runs through July 27, as part of preparations for the Asian Qualifiers FIFA World Cup Play-offs this October. Coach Julen Lopetegui is using the camp to fine-tune the squad's tactical and physical readiness in hopes of guiding Al Annabi to a second consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance — and their first earned through qualification, following their automatic berth as 2022 hosts. The Asian Football Confederation draw recently confirmed that Qatar and Saudi Arabia will co-host the fourth round of Asian World Cup qualifiers — the continental play-offs — from October 8 to 14. Qatar, who also play hosts, have been drawn along side the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman while Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Iraq are in Group B. Qatar are currently ranked 53rd in the FIFA World Rankings.
Qatar Tribune
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Al Annabi in Austria
Al Annabi train in AustriaQatar's national football team has arrived in Austria for their overseas training camp and will be preparing under the guidance of their Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui for the fourth stage of the AFC Asian Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2026. The preparatory camp in Austrian town of Going am Wilden Kaiser will run until July 27.
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Mohammed Kudus's Tottenham transfer is the end result of West Ham's spending disasters
There are times when West Ham fans may catch the sight of one of their finest former players in action for capital rivals and hear a chant about getting him half price. It involves an element of exaggeration: Declan Rice commanded a British record fee of £105m and even a brace of superlative free kicks against Real Madrid do not make him worth £210m. And yet there could be a sequel of sorts, Hammers supporters casting more envious glances at another favourite found elsewhere in London. And if, as seems likely, Mohammed Kudus joins Tottenham for £55m, there may be greater reasons to think West Ham have sold him on the cheap. Certainly in the context of the Ghanaian's talent and his outstanding, 14-goal debut campaign in England, if not the underwhelming, five-goal sophomore season. But the fee is £30m below Kudus' release clause and there have been moments, with an ability to spin or glide away from defenders, to finish clinically or spectacularly, when that £85m has looked a realistic valuation. A transfer may prove a coup for Tottenham. It already looks a failure from West Ham. From Graham Potter, who got just two goals and two assists from such a gifted player in 18 appearances and who did not seem to have a gameplan to get the best from him, just as Julen Lopetegui did not either. But, in a wider sense, from the club as a whole. Kudus was bought with some of the funds from Rice's sale: it was supposed to shape their future, protect them from seeing their prized assets picked off, provide a springboard. And, given Rice's status as a player who cost them nothing, put them in a wonderful position in terms of PSR. Instead, West Ham contrived to spend around £250m in two years. Yet, somehow, they only had a squad with three players who could have been auctioned to underwrite their latest recruitment drive. One of those, Lucas Paqueta, is unsellable because of the betting charges levelled against him. Another, Jarrod Bowen, is the captain and constant. That left Kudus, and he is leaving. West Ham should wonder how they burned their way through a quarter of a billion and what they got in return. Niclas Fullkrug is the German cult hero but an injury-prone thirty-something who made just six league starts. That was five more than Luis Guilherme, the attempt to unearth a Brazilian prodigy. Crysensio Summerville, the best player in the Championship, was a forgettable one in the Premier League. Max Kilman was overpriced at £40m. Guido Rodriguez and Carlos Soler did not cost fees but were undistinguished. Of the 2023 buys, Edson Alvarez has a dreadful disciplinary record. James Ward-Prowse is a solid citizen but in his thirties. Konstantinos Mavropanos appears on his way out. Kalvin Phillips ' loan worked out terribly for all concerned. Kudus apart, only Aaron Wan-Bissaka ranks as a success. It points to a lack of joined-up thinking, a case study in bad decision-making; Tim Steidten, the director of football who seemed to specialise in falling out with his managers, was not the driving force in every signing but leaves an awful legacy. Lopetegui, supposedly the more attacking antidote to David Moyes, somehow instead managed to be a less charismatic Manuel Pellegrini; he was still more miscast as a West Ham manager. Then there is Potter, who deserves a chance to implement his own ideas but whose reign has produced just 20 points from 18 games; despite away wins over Arsenal and Manchester United, there was precious little cause for optimism. David Moyes left them in ninth and, a year ago, West Ham may have thought that, as they spent heavily, a repeat would be underwhelming. Instead, they came 14th, their dismal form camouflaged by Manchester United and Tottenham's. Now there may be few tipping them for ninth. Their failure is all the more egregious as West Ham seemed to have gambled on short-term success; at times exacerbated by their choice of arrivals, they have had the second oldest team in the division in each of the last two seasons. Kudus, at 24, was one of the younger players. Now the passing of time was a reason West Ham probably needed to sell someone. The ageing quartet of Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell and Danny Ings have been released while West Ham have delayed a decision on the 35-year-old Michail Antonio. Some, at least, may require replacing. So far, however, the only buy has been the pre-arranged deal to convert Jean-Clair Todibo's loan into a permanent deal. A club who had bought too many players have now acquired too few. There are gaps in the squad. There will be one fewer match-winner and West Ham only won two league matches last season without any of Kudus, Paqueta or Bowen scoring. Perhaps there was never a sense of permanence to Kudus' time at West Ham, but his sale underlines how badly their expensive plans have gone awry and how the risk is that it could go still worse.
Qatar Tribune
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Qatar coach names squad for preparatory camp in Austria
Tribune New Network Doha Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday named a 30-member squad for Al Annabi's 17-day preparatory camp in Austria from July 11-27. The players will undergo extensive training besides playing two friendly matches during the camp as they gear up for a critical phase of the fourth round of the AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The squad has a mix of youth and experience and also includes the recently recalled veteran and captain Hassan Al Haydos. He recently came out of his international retirement to rejoin the national team at the coach's insistence. The training camp will also provide the Spanish coach Lopetegui an opportunity to further fine tune the squad. Al Annabi are preparing for the October 8, 11, 14 qualifiers, where Qatar will compete against five other nations - Iraq, Oman, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates for a direct ticket to the global showpiece. The six teams will be split into two groups of three, with the winner of each group securing automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup finals, while the second-placed sides will move on to the fifth and final round of qualification. The fourth-round draw will be held on July 17, with matches kicking off in October. Preparatory camp squad: Meshaal Barsham, Marwan Sherif, Salah Zakaria, Shehab Ellethy, Abdulaziz Hatem, Abdullah Youssef, Abdullah Alyazidi, Assim Madibo, Ahmed Suhail, Ahmed Al Rawi, Ahmed Fathy, Ahmed Al Ganehi, Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Boualem Khoukhi, Edmilson Junior, Guilherme Torres, Hazem Ahmed, Hassan Al Haydos, Homam Al Amin, Ismail Mohammed, Karim Boudiaf, Jassim Jaber, Mohammed Muntari, Mohammed Al Mannai, Mostafa Tarek, Pedro Miguel, Tarek Salman, Youssef Abdelrazzaq, Youssef Aymen. Coach: Julen Lopetegui.
Qatar Tribune
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Qatar aim to keep up their winning run against Uzbekistan in Tashkent
AFC/TNN Tashkent Qatar will look to continue their winning run against Uzbekistan at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent for their concluding AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26 Group A tie on Tuesday. Al Annabi sealed their place in the playoffs - where an additional two spots to the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be at stake - with a 1-0 win over Iran on Thursday. It was Spaniard Julen Lopetegui's first match in charge as head coach and the tactician will expect his side to take full points as they set their eyes on the playoffs. 'We have another match ahead of us, and we must also focus because it will be an important building block for what's to come,' said Lopetegui after The morale boosting win against Iran. Ahead of the clash against Uzbekistan, Lopetegui reiterated, 'This match will be an important and challenging test for us ahead of the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers in October. We need to maintain our standard of high-quality football and control the tempo of the game.' 'We are fully aware of the strength of the Uzbek team, which is one of the best in Asia. That's why we must give our maximum effort and perform at our highest level.' 'I have full confidence in our players' ability to rise to the occasion and reflect the hard work we've put in during preparation. Everyone is committed and determined to give their best performance.' Qatar player Abdulaziz Hatem said, 'Our preparations for this match have gone well, especially following our important victory over Iran in the previous round, which secured our qualification for the fourth round of the qualifiers.' 'Tomorrow's match against Uzbekistan will be an important test as we prepare for the next stage of the qualifiers, so we must approach it with full seriousness.' 'Our matches against Uzbekistan are always intense and exciting, and we expect tomorrow's game to be no different. We will strive to perform at our best and give it everything we've got.' Meanwhile fans will expect a party-like atmosphere when Uzbekistan welcome Qatar. The Central Asian side sealed qualification to an inaugural FIFA World Cup Finals on Thursday and will want to end their campaign with victory in front of their fans. Thursday's qualification was greeted with joy as Uzbekistan ended their long wait to appear on the global stage, with head coach Timur Kapadze applauding his players for getting across the finish line despite the immense pressure. 'We overcame a lot of pressure. Before the game, fans, sports websites and experts expressed their confidence in our team's victory and expected a good result from us. This confidence also became a great responsibility and pressure for us. But we managed to overcome this pressure and complete the task. 'For the next match, we will prepare adequately although several players who have not featured much may be given the chance to play,' said the tactician, with there still being a possibility of Uzbekistan topping the group with a win should Islamic Republic of Iran lose to DPR Korea. Qatar have 13 points with four wins. Iran top the group with 20 points, followed by Uzbekistan (18), the UAE (14), Qatar (13), Kyrgyzstan (7), and North Korea (3). Iran and Uzbekistan have both secured automatic qualification to the World Cup. Eighteen teams have qualified for the current stage that was divided into three groups, each containing six teams competing in a split league system of two home and away stages. The first and second-placed teams from each group qualify directly for the World Cup. The third and fourth-placed teams in each group advance to the fourth round, which will see the teams divided into two groups of three. The top team in each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the second-placed teams will play a continental play-off to qualify for the World Cup.
