Doha: Head coach of the Qatar national football team Julen Lopetegui announced Sunday the squad for the two friendly matches against Russia and Bahrain, as part of preparations for the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Qatar will face Bahrain on September 3 at Al Thumama Stadium, before taking on Russia on September 7 at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium. These matches continue the team's preparation program, which began with an abroad training camp in Austria last July.

According to Qatar News Agency, the 26-player squad includes three goalkeepers: Meshaal Barsham, Salah Zakaria, and Mahmud Abunada, along with Ahmed Al Janahi, Ahmed Al Rawi, Ahmed Suhail, Ahmed Fathi, Akram Afif, Ahmed Alaa, Ismaeel Mohammed, Edmilson Junior, Bassam Al Rawi, Almahdi Ali, Boualem Khoukhi, Pedro Miguel, Jassim Jaber, Sultan Al Braik, Tarek Salman, Assim Madibo, Abdulaziz Hatem, Guilherme Torres, Karim Boudiaf, Mohammed Khaled, Mohammed Muntari, Mohammed Munaee, and Homam El Amin.

The squad saw little change from the one announced by Lopetegui in early July, except for the absence of captain Hassan Al Haydos and striker Almoez Ali due to injury. The Spanish coach recalled several names, including Al-Rayyan goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada, Al-Duhail defender Sultan Al Braik, and Al-Wakrah defender Almahdi Ali, while excluding goalkeepers Marwan Sharif and Shehab Ellethy.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had held the draw for the fourth round (continental playoff), which will be hosted in Doha, placing Qatar in Group A alongside the UAE and Oman. Qatar will begin its playoff campaign against Oman on October 8, before meeting the UAE on October 14, while Oman will face the UAE on October 11. Group B will be held in Saudi Arabia and includes the host nation along with Iraq and Indonesia.

Qatar, the reigning two-time AFC Asian Cup champions, reached the playoff after finishing fourth in the third round with 13 points from 10 matches.