Qatar national under-20 football team

The Qatar national under-20 football team is the national youth team of Qatar and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association. Qatar's U-20 national team played an important role in the development of football in Qatar and gave it one of its first shining moments on the global stage when the youth squad finished second in the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia.

Qatar Under-20

Association	Qatar Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	WAFF (West Asia)
Home stadium	Khalifa International Stadium Jassim bin Hamad Stadium
FIFA code	QAT
First colours Second colours
Biggest win
Qatar 13–0  Bhutan (Doha, Qatar; 8 November 2007)
Biggest defeat
Qatar 1–9  Australia (Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 7 March 2023)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances	4 (first in 1981)
Best result	Runners-up (1981)
AFC U-20 Asian Cup
Appearances	16 (first in 1980)
Best result	Champions (2014)

History

Formation

In response to the recently established World Youth Championship, Qatar established its national youth team in 1976. However, they were unable to qualify for the first two World Youth Championships in 1977 in Tunisia and in 1979 in Japan.^[1]

1981 World Youth Championship

In the 1980 AFC Youth Championship which was held in Thailand, the Qatar U20 team finished as runners-up after losing to South Korea in the final. This granted them a spot in the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, which was hosted in Australia. Under the supervision of Brazilian coach Evaristo de Macedo, the championships proved to be a success. Facing Brazil in the quarter-finals, they were able to secure a 3–2 victory by utilizing the offside trap. They went on to face England in the semi-finals, where they earned a 2–1 victory after a fine performance by their goalkeeper.^[1]

The team finished second after losing 0–4 to West Germany in the final on a wet pitch which was unfavorable to the Qataris as they were not used to playing in such conditions.^[1] As a result of achieving runners-up position, each Qatari player received 100,000 Qatari riyals, a Mercedes Benz, and a bungalow. The population of Qataris was only 120,000 at the time of this achievement.^[2]

1995 World Youth Championship

Qatar earned its second international U-20 World Cup appearance in 1995 as hosts. While Nigeria was preparing to host the 1995 edition, an Ebola epidemic broke out in west Africa, and as a result, FIFA decided to award the hosting rights to Qatar with only twenty days remaining till the start of the championships.^[1]

2014 AFC U-19 Championship

Qatar's youth team won the AFC U-19 Championship for the first time in its history after defeating DPR Korea 1–0 in the final of the 2014 edition which took place in Myanmar.^[3] Advancing undefeated from a group which included DPR Korea and Iraq, they defeated China 4–2 in the quarter-finals, and earned a 3–2 victory after extra time against the hosts in the semi-finals. In the finals, the Qataris would be victorious against DPR Korea for a second time in the tournament, with super sub Akram Afif scoring the only goal of the match in the second half. The entire squad was composed of Aspire Academy students. As a result of Aspire's HOPE Project (Holistic Overseas Player Experience), most of the squad were European-based.^[4]

Competitive record

FIFA U-20 World Cup

FIFA U-20 World Cup record
Hosts / Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1977	did not qualify
1979
1981	Runners-up	6	3	1	2	7	9
1983	did not qualify
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995	Group stage	3	0	1	2	1	4
1997	did not qualify
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	7
2017	did not qualify
2019	Group stage	3	0	0	3	0	6
2023	did not qualify
2025
Total	4/24	15	3	2	10	9	26

AFC U-20 Asian Cup

Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1980	Runners-up	4	2	1	1	4	4
1982	did not qualify
1985
1986	Fourth place	5	2	0	3	7	6
1988	Third place	5	3	1	1	12	5
1990	Fourth place	5	3	0	2	5	3
1992	Round 1	4	3	0	1	9	5
1994	Round 1	4	1	2	1	5	7
1996	Round 1	4	0	1	3	3	12
1998	Round 1	4	1	1	2	2	6
2000	did not qualify
2002	Round 1	3	1	0	2	7	8
2004	Quarter-finals	4	2	1	1	3	2
2006	did not qualify
2008
2010
2012	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	6
2014	Champions	6	5	1	0	14	6
2016	Round 1	3	1	1	1	2	4
2018	Semifinals	5	3	0	2	19	13
2023	Round 1	3	0	0	3	2	12
2025	Round 1	3	1	0	2	6	5
Total	16/22	65	29	9	27	104	104

Results and fixtures

2023

Saudi Arabia  v  Qatar

23 February 2023 (2023-02-23) Friendly	Saudi Arabia	2–1	Qatar	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
17:00 (UTC+4)	Al-Zubaidi 3', 50'	Report	27'	Stadium: The Sevens Stadium

Qatar  v  Iran

1 March 2023 (2023-03-01) 2023 AFC U-20 GS	Qatar	0–1	Iran	Istiqlol Stadium, Fergana
19:00		Report	Hazbavi 65' (pen.)	Attendance: 6,120 Referee: Kim Woo-sung (South Korea)

Vietnam  v  Qatar

4 March 2023 (2023-03-04) 2023 AFC U-20 GS	Vietnam	2–1	Qatar	Istiqlol Stadium, Fergana
19:00	Nguyễn Quốc Việt 45+2' Nguyễn Văn Trường 90'	Report	Al-Rawi 84' (pen.)	Attendance: 1,024 Referee: Akhrol Risqullaev (Uzbekistan)

Qatar  v  Australia

7 March 2023 (2023-03-07) 2023 AFC U-20 GS	Qatar	1–9	Australia	JAR Stadium, Tashkent
15:00	El-Sayed 2'	Report	Al-Ghareeb 13' (o.g.) Donnell 21' Borges-Rodrigues 25' Oliveira 39', 67' Yull 76' Popovic 79' Goodwin 90' Badolato 90+2'	Attendance: 123 Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)

Managerial history

• Evaristo de Macedo (xx)
• José Faria (1979)
• Evaristo de Macedo (xx)
• João Francisco (1986)
• Edison de Souza (1987)
• Celso Roth (1991–92)
• Marcio Maximo (1994)
• Jørgen E. Larsen (1995)
• Alejandro Sabella (1995)
• José Paulo (1995–97)
• Marcelo Buarque (1997)
• José Paulo (1998)
• Obeid Jumaa (1998)
• Ruud Doctor (2001–03)
• Tiny Ruys (xx–2005)
• Roberto Landi (2005–06)
• Remco Boere (2007)
• Tiny Ruys (xx–2011)
• Marcel van Buuren (2011–2013)
• Félix Sánchez (2013–2020)