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By Tyler Erzberger
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The next four days are the final match days of the group stage, and we saw the first quartet, Group B, end this afternoon across North America.
While Canada, Switzerland, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, for all intents and purposes, set to play in the Round of 32, the final team, Qatar, is packing their bags to return home.
Was this a failure on Qatar's part, or was this always going to be the ending for the reigning Asian champions?
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Expectation
Before the World Cup kicked off, I had Qatar ranked as the 42nd best team in the competition. Although they've won back-to-back Asian titles, that was more of an anomaly than the actual strength of the squad. Although Group B was one of the easiest groups Qatar could have asked for, they would need to find a result against Canada or Switzerland before defeating the lowest-ranked team, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the group finale to make it out.
Reality
To my shock, Qatar actually came out of the gate with a point, stealing a late goal against the Swiss to grab it. Although they didn't look great, none of that mattered as long as they could find a win against Canada or Bosnia.
That optimism didn't last long after a humiliating 6-0 loss to Canada where they couldn't stop acquiring red cards, leading into a disappointing 3-1 loss to Bosnia on Wednesday. Qatar had much better play against Bosnia, but most of their goodwill was gone following the shellacking given to them by Canada in a game where the Asian champions looked dire.
The point against Switzerland and the positive play versus Bosnia keep them away from getting a failing grade, but it's not much better than that. Qatar will be remembered as one of the worst teams of the 2026 World Cup.
Final Grade: D
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