Qatar rise to 3rd place in a dramatic FIFA ranking after the madness of the match against Switzerland
Article by Maria Olteanu – Published on Sunday, 14 June 2026, 08:09 / Updated on Sunday, 14 June 2026 08:09
Qatar scored sensationally the first point in World Cup history, after captain Boualem Khoukhi scored a dramatic extra-time header to earn a 1-1 draw against Switzerland at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Group B. The equalizer went straight into a dramatic FIFA top.
Scored exactly at minute 93:59, Khoukhi's decisive goal is official third latest equalizing goal from the group stage in FIFA World Cup history, from 1966 to the present.
The wonder goal ranks just behind Silvestre Varela's 94:34 strike for Portugal against the USA in 2014 and Luis Hernández's 94:04 equalizer for Mexico against the Netherlands in 1998, according to ringier.africa.
Qatar wrote history at the World Cup
The dramatic finale came after Switzerland took the lead through Breel Embolo's penalty in the 17th minute. The Europeans dominated the game and created their big chances, which they squandered, only for football to punish them in the end.
The last-minute result erases the horrific memories of Qatar's disastrous 2022 World Cup campaign on home soil, where they failed to register a single point, losing all three of their group games.
Since that disaster, the Qataris have made significant progress at continental level, highlighted by back-to-back Asian Cup triumphs in 2019 and 2023.
Now, they have managed a point, the first in an extremely balanced group where all four teams drew in the first round.
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Canada v Bosnia 1-1 was the other result recorded in Group B;
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In the second leg, Qatar will meet Canada on Friday night at 1:00.
