Of the 12 Asian Football Confederation teams "anxiously awaiting Tuesday’s draw for the Russia World Cup 2018 third round qualifiers, arguably Qatar has the most at stake," according to the AFP. Since being "controversially chosen" to host the '22 tournament, the Gulf state has been "battered by ongoing allegations of corruption," charges it denies, and labor abuse, which it claims to be "addressing through reform." This week’s draw, though, addresses another criticism, "namely that Qatar has little or no footballing past." Russia 2018 represents Qatar’s "last chance to qualify for a World Cup on merit" before automatically playing as hosts in '22. If Jose Daniel Carreno’s emerging side manages to progress from the third round, it will "make history as the first Qatari team to play in football’s biggest tournament." Fail and Qatar will face four years of "inevitable sneering" that come '22 its place among the sport’s elite will be "due only to the energy-rich country’s extraordinary wealth" in being able to host a $30B World Cup. Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy Secretary General Hassan Al-Thawadi said, "It is important that we are there (Russia). The fact of having 2022 is an extra motivation for the players" (AFP, 4/11).
