Qatar lineup vs. Canada: Predicted XI for World Cup Group B clash as the Maroon One's record goalscorer seeks his first appearance at this tournament

Riding high after their first point at a World Cup, Qatar will aim to create another surprise result when they square off with co-hosts Canada at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on Thursday.

The reigning two-time Asian champions benefitted from an own-goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time to earn a shock 1-1 draw versus group favourites Switzerland last week.

Julen Lopetegui elected not to put several proven goal scorers in the starting 11, with record goalscorer Almoez Ali and Hassan Al-Haydos both beginning on the bench, with the latter the only one of the two to see the field against the Swiss.

Ali has 60 goals all-time, while the top goalscorer at the 2023 Asian Cup, Akram Afif and Al-Haydos are tied for third with 41 goals each, one fewer than Mansour Muftah for second.

Mahmud Abunada is the big reason Qatar had a chance to level their opening match, with the Al-Rayyan goalkeeper making nine stops as he was voted Man of the Match by the fans.

He replaces Meshaal Barsham as the first-choice keeper, with the latter being the Golden Glove winner from the 2023 Asian Cup.

Pedro Miguel, better known as Ro-Ro reached the century mark for caps on Saturday, playing the full 90 minutes at centre-back, while Ahmed Fathy can get to 50 appearances should he feature in this upcoming game.

Homam Ahmed is the only player on the World Cup squad who plays outside of Qatar, with the 26-year-old currently featuring in the Spanish second division at Cultural Leonesa.

While Lopetegui started numerous players with plenty of international experience in their opener, he also had two relatively new faces in the starting 11 with Ayoub Al-Oui and Issa Laye collecting their seventh and fifth caps, respectively.

Qatar possible starting lineup:

Abunada; Al-Oui, Miguel, Khoukhi, H. Ahmed; Gaber, Laye; Junior, Madibo, Afif; Ali

> Click here to see how Canada could line up against Qatar