HOUSTON, Texas. - Winners of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Concacaf Gold Cup guest nation Qatar will look to add another continental title to their trophy case before they host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
An integral part of those championship hopes will be 24-year-old Almoez Ali. At the age of 22, he was the top scorer in Qatar’s 2019 Asian Cup conquest with a tournament-record nine goals.
Ali was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player two years ago in what marked the first continental championship for Qatar’s senior men’s national team. His record-breaking goal came in the final, a 3-1 win over Japan.
Under current Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez, Ali was also the top scorer of the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship. His six goals helped the Gulf nation to a third-place finish in that tournament.
Ali and Sanchez's relationship extends even further back. The pair were the foundation of Qatar's U-19 Championship win in 2014. Ali contributed three goals to his nation's first title in the tournament.
Ali has scored an impressive 30 goals in 62 national team appearances. His most recent goal came in a 1-0 win against fellow Gold Cup participant El Salvador on July 4 in Pula, Croatia. That was Qatar’s final tune-up before flying to Houston where they will play all of their Group D matches.
The champions of Asia have found the formula to win tournaments and are bringing a competitive roster to the Gold Cup. For this tournament, Sanchez has called up three of the national team’s top ten all-time scorers in Hassan Al-Haydos, Almoez Ali, and Akram Afif. But it will be pivotal to get Ali going for Qatar to make some noise at the Gold Cup.
Sanchez will be hoping Ali's at his best when Qatar opens up its group stage play on July 13 vs. Panama.
The Qatari national team will also play Grenada on July 17 before concluding group stage action against Honduras on July 20.
