I'm not completely sure, but as far as I know, at least in recent history, it has never happened that the host of the World Cup did not pass the group and not advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
However, due to the quality of their team, Qatar does not deserve to play in this World Cup and I believe that they have a minimal chance to pass the group and reach the knockout stage of the competition.
If they aren't the hosts, we certainly wouldn't be watching them at this world championship, just as we haven't seen them at previous world championships either.
I might be wrong but South Africa is the only world Cup host country that didn't make it pass the group stage. According to stats Qatar might be joining them on that list but there recent performance is making me have faith in them
although there are still other names such as, Joao Felix, Andre Silva, Ricardo Horta and even Rafael Leao can be placed in Diego Jota's position. even so, it looks like if Jota is absent it is a loss for Fernando Santos. he must look for other options as his replacement, plus currently the Portugal squad is not at its best.
Although Jota is an excellent player but considering the number of exciting young stars in that Portugal squad, K
Jota shouldn't be missed that much the likes of Rafeal Leao and Joao Felix would cherish that opportunity.
And if the coach doesn't trust the younger stars he could just drift Bruno fernandez or Bernando Solva to the wing and play either Renato Sanchez or Ruben nevez Into the midfield. So yeah there many options to pick from.