Doha: The Qatar U17 national team, known as the "Al Anabi," will commence their FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025 campaign this Monday, November 3rd, facing Italy at 6:45 PM. The match will be held at Stadium 7 in Aspire Zone, the Mansour Muftah Stadium, as part of the Group A fixtures.

This tournament, hosted by Doha and running until November 27th, marks a historic first with the participation of 48 national teams. Qatar finds itself in a competitive Group A alongside Italy, South Africa, and Bolivia. In their subsequent group stage matches, the Al Anabi will face South Africa on November 6th before concluding the initial round against Bolivia on November 9th.

The Qatar U17 squad, making its eighth appearance in the competition, is aiming for a strong start with ambitions of surpassing its best-ever performance: a fourth-place finish achieved at the 1991 edition in Italy. The team is built around a core of promising players who have demonstrated significant potential. Key figures include the promising goalkeeper Ahmed Saber, Al Sadd defender Tameem Al Qadi, Mohamed Akram, playmaker Omar Al Marzouqi, and Al Gharafa striker Issa Waleed.

Preparations for the tournament have been extensive and methodical under the guidance of Spanish coach Álvaro Mejía. The final phase of preparation included an external training camp featuring several friendly matches. The team experienced a narrow 2-1 loss to Belgium, a 3-0 defeat to Croatia, and a 2-1 victory over Ukraine. The technical staff also utilized last month's Gulf Cup for U-17s, held in Doha, to test various player combinations.

The format for this expanded World Cup sees the 48 qualified teams divided into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage of 32. All knockout matches, from the Round of 32 through to the final at Khalifa International Stadium on November 27th, will follow a fixed bracket.

In a bid to create a concentrated football festival, all matches will be held in a single location, with the eight stadiums within Aspire Zone surrounded by dedicated fan zones. For the draw held in Doha last May, teams were seeded into four pots based on their performances in the last five editions, with host Qatar positioned in Pot 1 at the top of Group A.