Qatar face Switzerland with Lopetegui's 2,920-day wait as fuel

Your next match: Switzerland, Saturday night

Qatar face Switzerland on Saturday at 21.00 in your second Group B match (2) (4) (6). Canada opened the group earlier today against Bosnia and Herzegovina, that result shapes the table before you kick off (1). Three points here would put Qatar in a strong position with one group game left.

Lopetegui: 'Life owed me a World Cup'

Qatar's head coach Julen Lopetegui says he finally has the World Cup that was taken from him eight years ago. "La vida me debía un Mundial y lo he conseguido", life owed me a World Cup and I got it (5) (7). Sacked by Spain days before the 2018 tournament after agreeing to join Real Madrid, Lopetegui waited 2,920 days for this moment (7). He's blunt about the mission too: "Going to the World Cup just for the sake of going is stupid" (3). The man knows the difference between showing up and showing out.

The Spain wound still lingers

Lopetegui reflected on his Spain exit with understatement: "Sometimes unpleasant things happen" (4) (5). He was dismissed two days before Spain's 2018 opener, a decision that shocked world football. Now, eight years later, he leads Qatar into their first World Cup with something to prove.