The Qatari national football team advanced 16 places in the FIFA rankings, to 42nd in the world, behind the Russian team, which ranked 41st. This distinguished position came after the high level presented by the team in the Gold Cup championship, in which it reached the semi-final stage, where it narrowly lost against the US team, which won the title at the expense of the Mexican team. The Qatari team had played five matches in the Gold Cup, winning three, drawing one and