Doha: After Qatar was crowned with the AFC Asian Cup 2023 championship for the second consecutive time, goalkeeper Mishaal Barshim reiterated that he looks forward to qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals. Ahead of the third round of matches in the second stage of AFC qualification for the FIFA World Cup 26™, FIFA spoke to Barsham about Qatar's recent achievements, their ambitions for the near future and his memories of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, where he played two group-stage matches. After successfully beating Afghanistan and India in the two opening rounds of the group, Qatar is set to face Kuwait in a doubleheader in the third and fourth matches. "We started our qualification campaign well, beating India and Afghanistan. Now, we're ready for the two matches against Kuwait, especially after our success at the Asian Cup. We'll try to take all six points to secure our spot in the next round nice and early and avoid the pressure of leaving it late. Like every team, we've got a chance of qualifying for the World Cup, but I think our chances have grown after winning the Asian Cup. Of course, we're under more of a spotlight now. The other teams will be willing to give 200 per cent and be very well-prepared to face us, but that means we need to be even better," he said. He also hailed the smooth transition as coach Marquez Lopez took over the team just months before the Asian Cup, "Most of our squad are graduates of the Aspire Academy, which follows the model that most Spanish coaches like to implement. Of course, each coach has slight differences, but the overall style is similar. Coach Marquez is part of that school of thought and has spent several years coaching in Qatar, so he already knew our players and understood our strengths. Because of that, we didn't find adapting to any tactical changes he made challenging. The confidence he placed in us really helped, too. From day one, he told us he trusted us and asked us to trust him and focus on the next match. Ultimately, we achieved our goal, thank God".