| Host nation: Qatar Dates: 20 November-18 December Coverage: Live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Day-by-day TV listings - Full coverage details |
They have big ambitions for this year's World Cup, not just in terms of hosting it successfully but also in regards to how far their national team can progress.
Their minimal target is to get through the group stage, having qualified by virtue of being hosts.
That may seem lofty for a country with very little football history and a small population of people from the Persian Gulf.
They are not push overs. They are the Asian champion and have spent at least a generation building for this moment, so how have they created a football team that is capable of surprising the world and reaching the knockout stages?
The awarding of the World Cup to a country with only a short football heritage raised a lot of eyebrows, not only from an ethical point of view but also from a football one.
They did not play their first match until 1970, when they lost to their neighbours, and have a small pool of players.
If you're born in the country but your parents aren't, you have no rights to citizenship, according to John McManus.
In order to keep the benefits that come with citizenship so generous, there is a reason for that." It would have to be spread out even more if more people got citizenship.
They did produce some notable results despite the limited number of players available to them.
In 1981 they reached the final of the Youth World Championship in Australia, defeating Brazil and England along the way, before winning the Gulf Cup in the early 1990s.
At the turn of the century, the drive to improve the national team will accelerate.
After enjoying some good results under Brazilian coaches in the past, they looked to see if they could add some South American flair to their squad.
In 2004, despite their own naturalisation rules being strict, Qatar tried to get the services of three Brazilians who were important players in the German Bundesliga at the time.
The trio had no previous ties to the country, but the attempt to naturalise them was blocked by Fifa, who tightened regulations so that players had to show a "clear connection" to those they were hoping to represent.
The rules were made harder to import due to what Qatar did.
They focused on developing what they had.
A number of players from overseas followed the same path as Sebastian Soria, who was invited to play in the Qatari League in 2004 and then naturalised two years later.
The aim of the academy was to find and nurture the best talent both in football and other sports, and it was founded 18 years ago.
In football, the academy scouts 5,000 11-year-olds annually with the most promising talent given a grant and then spending the next seven years being coached and getting an education.
The best coaches in Europe are used by the academy. The La Masia academy had a youth coach named Felixnchez.
He was employed by Aspire in 2006 and moved through the age groups with the same players, eventually becoming the manager of the senior team.
"Aspire has an important role to play in the development of sports in the country," said Ahmad Khalil, who starred for the national team when they won the Gulf Cup.
The players of the national team moved with him to the national team after he became the coach of the country.
It has been important that the coach and players are familiar with one another.
The team that won the U19 Championship was made up of players from the academy. The side that beat Japan to win the Asian Cup was made up of players and coach.
At last year's Concacaf Gold Cup, where the national team lost to the United States, Assim Madibo said that they all came up together with the same coach.
It's a big thing for us to make it here to the top because I'm with this culture from 11 or 12 years old.
The USA coach said that he had an inside look at what the academy did.
They all meet up at the facility after their club games to do regeneration. They get to spend time with each other.
I'm looking forward to seeing how they play in the World Cup because they have a plan for how to prepare.
Having a team grow together is good, but the local players need to be exposed to quality opponents on a regular basis, and having a lot of money to draw from has aided that.
Since the early 2000s, a number of well-known athletes have been interested in playing in the Stars League.
It was beneficial for the local players and the league as a whole to face such opposition.
The players have won together. The foundation that was put in place almost two decades ago has the team on the right path as they head into the World Cup as Asian champion and 50th in the world rankings.
They still had to make it happen despite the large amount of money involved. They stopped looking for quick fixes and now see the results.
The aim is for our performances to improve after winning the Asian Cup. Everything is possible for us to make it to the next round.
We hope we can surprise. I expect the national team to do great things.
Get the latest results and goal notifications for any team at the Fifa World Cup by downloading the BBC Sport app: Apple - Android - Amazon
You can get a daily dose of the World Cup on the radio.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
