LONDON: Iraq’s qualification for the World Cup in the early hours of Wednesday morning means a record eight Arab nations will be present at the tournament taking place in the US, Mexico and Canada this summer.
With the last international window before the squads are named now over and fewer than three months left before they head off to North America, Arab News looks at their progress.
Iraq: 10/10
After 40 years, the Lions of Mesopotamia are back on football’s grandest stage. A long and winding journey finally ended, fittingly back in Mexico, with a 2-1 win over Bolivia in the last remaining playoff. For the ecstatic fans, the performance or tactics barely mattered — it was all about getting there. Ali Al-Hammadi gave Iraq an early lead and while the South Americans hit back, old warhorse Ayman Hussein scored a true striker’s goal that will never be forgotten. There are just a few weeks to get ready but nobody in the country will care about that. Iraq will be full of confidence as the World Cup looms.
Egypt: 9/10
A 4-0 win over regional rivals Saudi Arabia in Jeddah was a great way for the team to start final preparations. The only concern for coach Hossam Hassan was that the hosts did not provide enough of a test in the first of two friendlies. That obviously would not be the case against Spain playing on home soil, but the Pharaohs showed they can defend, work tirelessly and handle some of the best teams in the world. They even played the last few minutes with ten men. It is a huge confidence booster ahead of an open-looking group with Belgium, New Zealand and Iran in the summer. As international windows go, it was almost perfect.
Algeria: 8/10
A 7-0 win over Guatemala was ideal for the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Houssem Aouar to get in their goalscoring groove, but not the kind of tough test that would stand them in good stead for their opening game against Argentina on June 17. That came instead against Uruguay on Tuesday, and it was a battling 0-0 draw against Marcelo Bielsa’s men. Vladimir Petkovic will be delighted with how hard his players worked and both results will make the world champions take notice, as well as Austria and Jordan.
Morocco: 7/10
After the chaos and continuing fallout of the Africa Cup of Nations, it was good to get back to the football. With Brazil up first in June for the 2022 semifinalists, it is no surprise that this window saw two South American tests. It was especially important for coach Mohamed Ouahbi who replaced Walid Regragui, the hero of the last World Cup earlier in the month. The first was a 1-1 draw with Ecuador that the North Africans should have won, and it was followed by a 2-1 victory over Paraguay that gave the new coach his first victory. Achraf Hakimi made both goals and if the PSG man stays fit and in form, then the Atlas Lions always have a chance.
Jordan: 7 out of 10
For a team built from defensive organization and cohesion, conceding four goals in two games may be little concerning — but there was still plenty of encouragement in their two 2-2 ties against Costa Rica and Nigeria. For one, Jordan don’t often get the chance to play against opposition of this caliber and coach Jalal Sellami already knows all he needs to about his backline. With two of his three main forwards — Ali Olwan and Yazan Al-Naimat — out injured, there was a need for others to step up and score goals, which is exactly what happened.
Tunisia: 6 out of 10
The current Tunisian national team’s style of play focuses on defensive solidity and a 1-0 win over Haiti was straight out of the playbook for the Carthage Eagles. It was followed by a 0-0 draw with Canada, another good result against the World Cup co-host. The much-vaunted defense is still looking strong and that could be enough against Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands, but more of a cutting edge would not do any harm.
Qatar: 5 out of 10
Of all the Arab nations, Qatar are in exactly the same position as both their games in the international window were canceled. Fans and players were looking forward to taking on world champions Argentina and Serbia but the political situation in the Gulf put paid to that. Instead, head coach Julen Lopetegui got some serious time with his players during a training camp. It remains to be seen how beneficial that was, but the Spaniard would surely have wanted to see his men take on some top-class opposition.
Saudi Arabia: 3 out of 10
It started with a dismal 4-0 loss against Egypt in Jeddah. The win was so comfortable that even the victors were left a little surprised. Defensively there were huge gaps in the Saudi defense and not much to encourage in a predictable attack. It left coach Herve Renard on the backfoot, the media speculating over a potential replacement to the extent the Saudi Arabian Football Federation issued a statement. There was relief all round, then, when Abdullah Al-Hamdan opened the scoring in the second friendly in Serbia. The Green Falcons tried to hang on to the lead, but former Al-Hilal striker Aleksandar Mitrovic knows plenty about scoring against Saudi defenses and got a late winner. Despite the 2-1 loss, it was a better performance from Saudi Arabia, but plenty of work remains to be done.
