The Qatar Football Association announced on Wednesday that Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has been relieved of his duties without explaining the reasons, replacing Al Waqra club coach Spaniard “Dentin” Marquez Lopes to lead the Asian Cup. It will look to defend its title in early 2024.

The federation said in a statement that “Queiros’ tenure has come to an end by mutual consent between the two parties,” adding, “All thanks and appreciation to Coach Queiroz for the time he has overseen the training of our national team.”

He later said in a post that the deal with Marquez came “after the positive results he achieved with Al-Waqra Sports Club”, thanking the club for “the cooperation and agreement to hire the coach”. Drouton occupied the Belgian club before taking charge of Al-Waqra in 2018. Currently fourth in the local league.

Queiroz was appointed last February on a four-year deal with the aim of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup after Spain suffered three defeats in the first round of the 2022 World Cup under coach Felix Sanchez. 3 matches in group stage.

During his participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, he lost 1–2 to Haiti, drew 1–1 with Honduras, and then beat Mexico 1–0. They lost 4-0 to Panama in the quarterfinals.

Queiroz led the Qatar national team in the first two matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the first against Afghanistan (8-1) and the other against India (3-0), after losing to New Zealand in a friendly. A clean sheet and a 1-1 draw with Russia last September.

At the Jordanian International Championship last October, they drew 0-0 with Iraq before winning on penalties, then suffered a 4-0 defeat against Iran.

In total, he led Al-Annabi in 12 matches, winning 5 times, losing the same and drawing twice.

Queiroz wrote on his Instagram account on November 21 after winning his second match in World Cup qualifying: “On the field, our performance was very efficient and ambitious. Off the field, what’s next? We have to do better. Train and be more.” “In preparation. We need to continue to get the chance to play and compete. Now our preparation camp for the Asian Cup begins.”

The 70-year-old Portuguese coach played in World Cup finals 4 times, once with his country’s national team and 3 times with Iran, which he twice oversaw for a decade.

Queiroz coached Iran at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals, as well as Portugal in 2010, and led South Africa to the 2002 finals, but he resigned before the tournament.

Apart from Spanish Real Madrid (2003-2004), the Portuguese also oversaw the national teams of the United Arab Emirates, Colombia and Egypt, and served as assistant to Scottish Alex Ferguson at Manchester United for two seasons.