Meshaal Barsham aspires to great accomplishments like his older brother Mutaz Barshim, who is the current Olympic champion and three-time high jump world champion. The teenage goalkeeper is expecting to excel as Qatar prepares for the FIFA World Cup and Al Annabi aims to make their debut in the knockout stage.
Meshaal is one of the three goalkeepers on the 27-player national squad announced by head coach Felix Sanchez last month, along with Saad Al Sheeb of Al Sadd’s senior team and Yousef Hassan of Al Gharafa.
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While Al Sheeb, who has played over 75 international games, has been a mainstay of Qatar team since making his debut in 2009, Meshaal excels at every opportunity he gets and shows nerves of steel in crunch situations.
Last year, he helped Qatar claim third position at the FIFA Arab Cup by stopping a shot from Egypt’s Mohamed Sherif during a penalty shootout in the play-off as he made his maiden appearance in the tournament.
The 24-year-old also blocked an 85th-minute penalty strike from Alexis Sanchez to help Qatar hold Chile 2-2 in an international friendly in Vienna in September.
Hailed as “really talented and extremely professional” by his coach Sanchez, Meshaal takes inspiration from his brother Mutaz. “He is my role model,” Meshaal said of Mutaz, 31, in a video posted by Qatar Football Association on its Twitter handle.
“He always advises me to give my best in every opportunity and tells me to spare no effort in training, and that’s what I do,” Meshaal said.
Speaking on the team’s build-up, Meshaal said all his team-mates are excited ahead of the World Cup and giving their best in preparation.
“Every player wants to play in the World Cup and all of us are giving our best in the training sessions. Our aim in the World Cup is to put up a strong show in a tough group and reach the second round,” he said.
“The ambiance has been fantastic. We are functioning as a single unit, with older players constantly accessible to mentor younger guys. We are all striving toward our objectives, Meshaal said, citing national team captain Hassan Al Haydos as an example.
A significant show of support for the team during games was also requested from the home crowd by the goalkeeper.
We anticipate enthusiastic fan support, which will be invaluable to us as we face this task, he said.
The tournament’s first game will take place on November 20 at the Al Bayt Stadium between Qatar and Ecuador. In their Group A games, they will also compete against the African champions Senegal and the title favorites Netherlands.
