Roger De Sá secures Qatari coaching job with Carlos Queiroz

Roger De Sá has secured another national team coaching position, this time with 2022 Fifa World Cup hosts Qatar.

The former Orlando Pirates coach has confirmed he and Portuguese colleague Carlos Queiroz have been contracted by the Qatari Football Association to qualify them for the 2026 global showpiece.

“I signed the contract, it is a three-and-a-half-year deal,” he said.

“We start on March 1 and the journey continues.”

The journey sees him going into his fifth national team job alongside his fellow Mozambique-born coach.

At last year’s World Cup, they were in charge of Iran where they had a rollercoaster campaign.

Their team made headlines when the players remained silent during their national anthem in the opening match against England in apparent defiance against their government and show of support for protesters at home.

While they were hammered 6-2 in that match, De Sá and Queiroz’s team saved face with a 2-0 win over Wales.

De Sá says the Qataris approached them during the World Cup.

“It’s been coming for a while, the talking started at the World Cup and I then went for a  visit to get a good look at the place and the facilities. We carried on with the negotiations and I signed after they agreed to my conditions.”

De Sá will take his wife and 13-year-old son with him for what he hopes will be a gig that sees him working at his third World Cup in 2026.

“The contract is until the World Cup month and the objective is to ensure Qatar qualifies.”

He has watched a few club matches and while he acknowledges the country is small and there are not a lot of players to pick from, he is impressed by the country’s attitude.

“They want to be big in everything and they are especially keen to be a big player in world football. They want us to work with them to help them improve.”

Qatar became the second World Cup host nation, after South Africa, in the history of the tournament to fail to get out of the group stages after losing their three matches.

“I watched a couple of games and there are a few strong teams and their players are based all over the world. It is going to be similar to Iran where we will have to scout the players based outside. It is an exciting chapter for me. The journey continues.”