The Portuguese had signed in February 2023 a contract valid for four seasons, aiming for qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
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Portuguese Carlos Queiroz and the Qatar Football Association are negotiating the termination of the coach's contract, 10 months after he took over the national team, a source close to the process confirmed to Lusa this Tuesday.
Queiroz, 70 years old, is set to part ways with the Qatar Football Association, after succeeding Spanish Félix Sánchez Bas, who was the head coach for five years, leading up to the 2022 World Cup as the host nation.
The Portuguese Carlos Queiroz had signed in February 2023 a contract valid for four seasons, aiming for qualification for the 2026 World Cup. He started the qualifying phase with victories against Afghanistan (8-1) and India (3-0). Queiroz, who had two stints as the Portuguese national coach (1991/93 and 2008/10), left the Iran team after the 2022 World Cup, where he had been appointed to replace Croatian Dragan Skocic.
Over a 30-year career that began in 1991, Queiroz has managed six national teams, including the United Arab Emirates (1999), South Africa (2000 to 2001), Colombia (2019 to 2020), Portugal (1991 to 1993 and 2008 to 2010), Iran (2011 to 2019 and 2022), and Egypt (2021 to 2022).
After winning two U-20 World Cups with Portugal in 1989 and 1991 with the 'golden generation,' Queiroz was chosen to lead the senior team to the 1994 World Cup in the United States. However, he failed to achieve this goal and left the position amidst strong criticism from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).
Queiroz then spent three seasons with Sporting CP (his greatest achievement being a Portuguese Cup) and had stints in the United States (MetroStars), Japan (Nagoya Grampus), the Emirates, and South Africa, before moving to England in 2002/03 to become Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United.
The following season, Queiroz was chosen to lead Real Madrid, but his tenure with the 'merengue' club, where he won the Spanish Super Cup, lasted only one season. He returned to Manchester to resume his role as Ferguson's assistant. In 2008, the former goalkeeper, born in Nampula, Mozambique, returned to the Portuguese national team, replacing Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari and securing qualification for the 2010 World Cup, a goal he achieved.
In South Africa, Portugal was eliminated in the round of 16 by Spain (1-0), the eventual champions, and Queiroz once again left the position amidst conflicts with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and some Portuguese players, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe. In 2011, he took over as coach of Iran, where he stayed for eight years, participating in two World Cups, but always getting eliminated in the group stages.
In Brazil in 2014, the Iranian national team managed only a draw, but in 2018 in Russia, Queiroz achieved a win (1-0 over Morocco), only the second in the country's World Cup history, and drew with Portugal (1-1).
In Qatar, Carlos Queiroz participated in his fourth World Cup, his third consecutive one with Iran, after leading Portugal in the 2010 edition in South Africa, where he achieved his best record, reaching the round of 16.
Updated: 04:28, 6 Dec 2023
