Doha: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has identified 11 standout young players from the third round of the AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Among these promising talents is Qatar’s own Ibrahim Al Hassan. The AFC has also launched a fan vote to determine the best emerging star.
According to Qatar News Agency, the AFC published a report on its official website on Tuesday, allowing fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite future star among the young talents who excelled with their national teams during the qualifiers. The report emphasized the impressive performance of Qatar’s Ibrahim Al Hassan, who scored his first international goal against the UAE in the opening round of the third phase of qualifiers and later contributed to a victory over Kyrgyzstan by scoring as a substitute in the third round.
Ibrahim Al Hassan, at just 19 years old, is set to compete with other young talents who have bright prospects with their nat
ional teams. These include Saudi Arabia’s 22-year-old Musab Al Juwayr, Abdukodir Khusanov (21), who made history as the first Uzbek player in the English Premier League with Manchester City, Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki (22), Indonesian center-back Justin Hubner (21), and several others who made a significant impact during the qualifiers’ final stage.
Qatar’s national team has secured a spot in the fourth round of World Cup qualifiers, having finished fourth in Group A of the third round. This upcoming stage will feature six teams that ended in third and fourth positions in the Asian qualifiers’ third round, including Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
The AFC has previously announced that Qatar and Saudi Arabia will host the fourth-round matches, scheduled from October 8-14, 2025. The draw for this stage will occur on July 17, dividing the six teams into two groups of three. Each group will compete in a pool format, with the top team in each group earning direct qualification for t
he 2026 World Cup.