The President of the Qatari Football Association, Jassem Al-Buwainain, confirmed that the Spanish coach, Marquez Lopez, will remain in his role as the technical director of the Qatari national team. The team recently secured their second consecutive title at the Asian Cup, which was hosted on home soil.
Al-Buwainain stated to Alkass Sports Channels, “Lopez remains in his position as the technical director of the national team, and there will be a phase that we will complete in the upcoming period.” He revealed coordination with Al-Wakrah Club, where Lopez also serves as the technical director.
Qatar Football Association had appointed Lopez in early December last year following the sudden dismissal of the previous Portuguese coach, Carlos Queiroz, just a month before the start of the continental championship. The association cited the positive results achieved by the Spanish coach with Al-Wakrah club as a factor in his appointment.
Lopez, 62, previously managed Oevel in Belgium and Sint-Truidense in Belgium before taking over Al-Wakrah in 2018, currently holding the fourth position in the local league.
Ahead of the final match where Qatar defeated Jordan 3-1 to clinch the Asian Cup title, Lopez refrained from discussing his future plans. In an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca, he mentioned, “I don’t know; theoretically, the plan was to stay for these two months. I have a contract with Al-Wakrah until 2025, and we will see what happens after the final.”
In his first assignment post-Asian Cup, Lopez will lead Qatar against Kuwait on March 21 as part of the joint qualifying group for the 2023 Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup. Under the former coach Queiroz, Qatar achieved a perfect record in the first two rounds against Afghanistan and India back in November.
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