Qatar received year-long coaching support from FIVB for its volleyball teams. That produced a bronze in the 2025 AVC Nations Cup and a first-ever win in the Men's World Championship.
The first time Qatar made an appearance in the FIVB Men's World Championship in 2022, they didn't win a single match.
In Pool B action at the time, they were swept by Japan, got a set against Cuba, and fought in a three-set loss to Brazil.
Coach Camilo Andres Soto's squad finished last in the group, overall 21st out of 24 teams.
This year, it was a little bit different.
Qatar was drawn, ironically, in Pool B once again.
But this time, they fought different.
The World No. 21 squad took a set against the Netherlands before they got swept by World No. 1 Poland, thus eliminated from Round of 16 contention.
They only had one game left, against World No. 23 Romania, to end their campaign on Wednesday.
It took four sets, but Qatar finally picked up a victory in the FIVB Men's World Championship, 20-25 25-23 25-20 25-22.
"That we need to, at this level, [have] high intensity to keep as much as we can in the service and in attack," Soto told One Sports of Qatar's mindset after the match. "At least to be a little more aggressive than usual, but also we need to read the game."
"So we change and we play different volleyball, just more tactics, more [of] the service in. We play less mistakes in attack and we get it."
[ALSO READ: Qatar rallies past Romania in four sets for consolation win at FIVB Men’s World Championship]
Outside hitter Youssef Oughlaf tallied 15 points from 15 attacks, while middle blockers Abunabot Belal and Mohamed Ibrahim chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.
For Soto, who joined the program back in 2018, any sort of international exposure for his young players is a welcome one.
Qatar became one of Asia's fastest growing teams, boosted by the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, which funded a year-long coaching support for the country's teams in 2025.
That proved to have worked wonders, as the Argentine coach and Qatar finished with bronze in the 2025 AVC Nations Cup.
Asked about what the Philippines, a debutant in the 2025 MWCH, can work on at such a high-level, Soto could only share what has worked for him and Qatar.
"I believe for this World Cup, it was the big support from the government," he noted. "But yeah, they need a huge preparation and play many games like that--friendly games or official games... This is the way they can do it."
And now they only have a week to prepare before diving into competition once again--this time at the Islamic Games. But first, he celebrates their first victory.
"And enjoy, smile, because it was a tough period," Soto said. "And the rest, when we can, we prepare for Islamic Games after. With more happiness, you know."
[ALSO READ: SCHEDULE, RESULTS | 32 teams compete in 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship]
Katrina Alba is a sports journalist and producer, notably with SportsCenter Philippines before taking on her current role at One Sports.
She primarily writes about basketball and volleyball, with experience covering the SEA Games, Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. Outside of work, her hobbies include running, swimming, pickleball, yoga, arnis, and krav maga.