QATAR PERSPECTIVE

Al Jazeera covers the playoffs with particular attention to Iraq and Turkey — 'the teams that waited the longest.' The headline 'An incredible feeling: Turkiye celebrates ending 24-year World Cup wait' and the celebratory Iraq photo spread show where Doha's editorial heart lies. Italy's elimination is mentioned in a list format of the 48 qualifiers, buried among the statistics.

For Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, football is a major soft power instrument. Al Jazeera favors underdog narratives — Iraq and Turkey against historic powers — that resonate with Qatar's own trajectory in world football: a small country that imposed itself through investment and determination. Italy's fall is the flip side of this narrative: even giants can fall.

Al Jazeera also publishes Iraq celebration photos with emotional framing — tearful supporters, waving flags — that contrasts with the absence of Italian mourning coverage. The Doha newsroom chooses the Global South's joy over the footballing North's grief. An editorial choice reflecting Al Jazeera's repositioning as the voice of the Arab world and emerging nations in global sport.