In the next edition, the Arabs will be represented by Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria from the African continent, in addition to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Iraq from Asia, in a participation that reflects the increasing development of Arab football at the continental and international levels.
Diverse combinations and powerful challenges
The Arab teams will be divided into 7 different groups, with Qatar playing in the second group alongside Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland, while Morocco faces a strong challenge in the third group against Brazil, Scotland and Haiti.
As for the Tunisian national team, it is in the sixth group with the Netherlands, Sweden and Japan, while the Egyptian national team, which holds the record for winning the African Cup of Nations, begins its campaign in the seventh group against Belgium, Iran and New Zealand.
The Saudi national team will face a difficult test in Group Eight, which includes Spain, Uruguay, and Cape Verde, while Iraq returns to the World Cup after an absence of 40 years, through a strong group that includes France, Senegal, and Norway.
The most prominent Arab scene remains in the tenth group, which will bring together Algeria and Jordan with title-holders Argentina and Austria, in the first purely Arab confrontation at the World Cup in years.
Algeria and Jordan bring back the memory of Arab confrontations
The confrontation between Algeria and Jordan, scheduled for June 22 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, will bring to mind the history of Arab meetings in the World Cup, as it will be only the fourth confrontation between two Arab teams in the history of the tournament.
The Saudi national team was present in the three previous Arab confrontations, starting with the 1994 World Cup in the United States, when it defeated Morocco with a score of 2-1 thanks to goals by Sami Al-Jaber and Fouad Anwar, versus a goal by Muhammad Shawsh.
This victory contributed to the Green team qualifying for the second round, before it was later eliminated by losing to Sweden, while the Moroccan team was eliminated from the first round after suffering three consecutive defeats.
The Arab confrontations were repeated in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when the teams of Saudi Arabia and Tunisia tied 2-2 in an exciting match in the group stage.
The Tunisians advanced through Ziad Al-Jaziri, before the Saudi team responded with goals from Yasser Al-Qahtani and Sami Al-Jaber, but Radhi Al-Jaaidi snatched the fatal equalizer for the Eagles of Carthage.
Salah and Al-Dosari in the 2018 confrontation
In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia met in the third round of the group stage, after both sides suffered two losses to Uruguay and Russia.
The Egyptian team took the lead through Mohamed Salah, but Saudi Arabia overturned the result with two goals scored by Salman Al-Faraj from a penalty kick and Salem Al-Dosari, so the two teams exited the tournament in the first round.
Observers believe that the record participation of Arab teams in the 2026 World Cup gives Arab football an unprecedented opportunity to achieve new achievements, especially in light of the development of the level of a number of Arab teams in recent years, led by Morocco, which achieved a historic achievement by reaching the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
