Nathan Collins scored in the fifth minute after collecting a pass from Jack Moylan and finishing with the composure of a player in form. Five minutes into the match, and Qatar were chasing the game. They would chase it for the remaining 85 minutes without ever truly catching it.
Moylan was sent off just before half-time, reducing Ireland to 10 men for the entire second half. For 45 minutes plus stoppage time, Qatar had an extra player. They had possession. They had territory. They had Akram Afif and Almoez Ali, two of the finest attacking talents in Asian football. What they did not have was a goal.
Then it got worse. In the 78th minute, Ali, the top scorer in Asian World Cup qualifying with 12 goals, was shown a straight red card following a clash with an Irish defender. Qatar finished the match with 10 men of their own, the numerical advantage surrendered, the chance of an equaliser effectively gone. The final whistle confirmed the most dispiriting result of their preparation programme.
Lopetegui, the former Spain and Real Madrid coach who was appointed to lead Qatar to their second World Cup, made changes throughout the second half in search of an equaliser. None of them worked. The service into the box was predictable. The movement off the ball was sluggish. The urgency that a World Cup team needs when trailing with time running out was absent for long stretches.
The preparation programme has been compromised from the start. Qatar had arranged two high-profile friendlies against Argentina, the reigning world champions, and Serbia for the March international window as part of a "Qatar Festival" of football in Doha. Both were cancelled due to regional disruption. Lopetegui acknowledged the damage: "It was a difficult period not only for Qatar, but for all the countries in the region. Two extremely important matches had to be cancelled, and they would have represented a major test for the team."
Instead, Qatar held a 10-day training camp in March with no competitive opponents. They then waited until May to resume preparations. A friendly against Sudan in Doha on May 22, which served as a low-key tune-up, was followed by the trip to Dublin. One more friendly remains: El Salvador on June 6 in Los Angeles. Then it begins for real.
Qatar's Group B draw is demanding but navigable. Switzerland on June 13 in San Francisco. Canada, the co-hosts, on June 18 in Vancouver. Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 24 in Seattle. The expanded 48-team format means the top two in each group of four qualify automatically, with the best third-placed teams also advancing. On paper, Qatar have a realistic path to the knockout rounds. On the evidence of Dublin, that path is lined with obstacles they have not yet shown they can clear.
The squad retains genuine quality. Afif, the 2023 and 2024 Asian Cup hero, remains one of the most creative attackers outside of European football. Ali, disciplinary red cards aside, is a proven goalscorer at every level of Asian competition. Mohammed Muntari provides physical presence. Hassan Al-Haydos, now 35, carries the experience of more than 170 caps. Boualem Khoukhi is one of the most reliable defenders in the AFC. The raw materials are there. What Dublin exposed is that the assembly is incomplete.
Qatar's only previous World Cup appearance, as hosts in 2022, ended with three defeats and no goals from open play in the group stage. The humiliation of that campaign, a 0-2 loss to Ecuador on opening night, a 1-3 defeat to Senegal, and a 0-2 result against the Netherlands, was supposed to serve as the foundation for improvement. Qualifying for 2026 through the Asian pathway, rather than as automatic hosts, was the first evidence that the team had grown. The two Asian Cup titles in 2019 and 2023 demonstrated the highest level of continental quality.
But continental quality and World Cup quality are different animals. Ireland, ranked outside the world's top 50, controlled the match for 45 minutes with 11 men and then defended resolutely with 10. If Qatar cannot break down Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, the question of how they plan to break down Switzerland's defensive discipline in San Francisco becomes harder to answer. Lopetegui has 13 days. One more friendly. And the memory of Dublin to process before the tournament that will define his tenure.
