Ghana-born Qatar international Mohammed Muntari has defended his choice to represent the Asian country, whom he backs to spring an upset at the World Cup later this year.
The Al-Duhail striker looks forward to the 2022 global gathering while explaining his decision to play for The Maroon
Born in Kumasi, the 28-year-old moved to Qatar early in his career, going on to take up a new nationality and play international football for his adopted country.
He is all but set to play at his first World Cup tournament for The Maroon who will welcome the rest of the world for the November 21 to December 18 championship on home soil.
“Truth be told, I will choose Qatar [if I have the chance to choose all over again]. I will choose Qatar every single day [because of] what they did for me [and] what they are doing for my people,” Muntari told 3 Sports.
“Deep inside, I knew I took the right decision so if you ask me to do it again, I will choose Qatar over Ghana. I am not saying anything bad about my beloved country Ghana.
“It was never financial [switching to Qatar]. We play football firstly because we love football and we want to take care of the people we want to take care of.
“I wouldn’t say it was financially [motivated] because, at the end of the day, I could have been playing for Ghana and still be earning much.”
The 2022 finals will be Qatar’s first-ever appearance at the World Cup.
In Group A, The Maroon will take on Senegal, Ecuador, and the Netherlands in the hope of clinching a place in the Round of 16.
“In football, you never know what is going to happen. I know many countries and teams are saying that Qatar is not a football country but we will take our chances and looking at our group, I think we have a very good chance of going into the next stage,” said Muntari.
“That’s for sure. The players have been together for many years and we know each other. We’re like a family. That is why I am saying we have a fair chance.”
The striker is yet to score in the 4 games he has played in the 2021-2022 league season.
