Vladimir Weiss’ goal for Slovakia will come as a fillip for Qatar’s World Cup preparations.
The former Manchester City and Rangers winger cut inside to fire past Igor Akinfeev and give Slovakia the lead against Russia, and Jan Kozak’s team went on to record their first ever European Championships win.
But Weiss, who currently plays his club football with Qatari team Al-Gharafa, was breaking new ground in a different way.
Vladimír Weiss is the first player in history to score at the Euros while playing his club football outside Europe. pic.twitter.com/TjDJ8gwu3t
— Squawka (@Squawka) June 15, 2016
The 26-year-old is not the only player at the tournament to play his club football in the Middle East, and in fact he’s not even the only Al-Gharafa player at the tournament.
Hungary forward Krisztián Németh has been a club team-mate of Weiss since January, while Romania’s Dragoș Grigore has played for fellow Qatari club Al-Saliya since 2015.
Seven other players at Euro 2016 represent clubs based outside Europe: Two in the United States and one in each of Australia, Canada, China, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
As Qatar ramp up their preparations for hosting the 2022 World Cup, increased visibility of their domestic football league can only be a good thing.
The Gulf nation remain in contention to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. If they finish in the top two of a group also containing China, Iran, South Korea, Syria and Uzbekistan.
