Qatar Match Record Unbeaten Streak

Reverse Chronological order of 11 game 
unbeaten streak
Qatar's draw against Morocco today has been lost among all the headlines about Germany's capitulation to an impressive Argentina.

 The significance though of Qatar's draw is that it equals their all time unbeaten streak of 11 games (see full list of games right).  A great achievement for an emerging soccer nation.  Morocco were favourites going into the game.  

 The Qatari national league has been attracting stars such as Ronald de Boer, Frank de Boer, Pep Guardiola, Gabriel Batistuta, Raul, Harry Kewell, Keita and Mark Bresciano for some time now.  The club teams have been successful in the AFC Champions League with Al Sadd recently winning in 2011.  The national team is starting to see some success now which reflects the improvements to their national league.
The table below shows Qatar's record unbeaten runs.  Can they go one better this time?  Third time lucky.

Table: Current unbeaten streak for Qatar matches the 11 game record set in 2001 and equaled in 2004.

However in terms of AFC teams it falls short when compared to the likes of South Korea, Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia and even their close neighbours UAE.  The table below shows the all time longest unbeaten streaks for AFC teams.

Table: Longest unbeaten Streaks for AFC teams.

 South Korea hold the all time AFC record with 27 games unbeaten.  Their record streak included a 3-1 win versus Australia (ranked 14th in the world at the time) and a 1-0 victory over Paraguay(20).  Qatar haven't beaten anyone of note during their unbeaten run.  However you can only beat the teams that are put in front of you, it still marks a national achievement.

 I have listed Australia in the above table as they are now part of AFC after moving over from OFC in 2006.

 Qatar play Peru in Doha on 9th September and should they avoid defeat they will claim the national record outright.

 This is good on-the-pitch news for the nation that is trying to convince the world that they can host the World Cup in 2022.  Although they have been already awarded the competition there are calls for FIFA to do a u-turn as the conditions in Qatar in the summer months will not be suitable for playing football.  Indeed its touch and go if they will host the competition.  One popular bookmaker is edging towards "No".  Qatar hosted the FIFA World Youth Championships in April 1995.
Chart: Likelihood that Qatar will/won't hold the World Cup 2022.

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