Libya may not have commanded the attention of the football world in recent years, but their enthusiasm has not diminished. Despite mixed results and a drop in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking, inside the camp there has been a quiet but unwavering determination to reclaim the standing they believe they deserve.
Driven by ambition and insistent on pushing ahead, regardless of circumstances, the Libyan side are suffused with a spirit that defender Ali Youssef summed up in a single sentence: “We never give up on our ambition to win.”
The nation’s bid to reach the FIFA World Cup 26™ through African qualifying came up short. While they showed clear improvement late in the campaign, a stumble midway through the preliminaries left them in third place in the group, behind Cabo Verde and Cameroon. Nevertheless, an opportunity now presents itself to turn a fresh page with the FIFA Arab Cup™ about to get underway.
Libya will meet Palestine in Qatar on Tuesday, 25 November in a one-off qualifier, with the victor progressing to the tournament proper, which runs from 1-18 December.
“The passion is certainly always there, and the ambition to win is our baseline,” Yousef told FIFA. “We aim to move to the next phase in the group stage. Palestine have a well-developed team playing modern football. They have professional players. We’ll prepare as best we can for the match, and I hope a victory will be the outcome for us.”
The team are aware of the path ahead of them if they make it past the play-off, but the 24-year-old defender said any talk about future opponents is on hold until the first hurdle has been cleared.
“We respect every team, of course, but we fear no one,” he continued. “Right now we’re focused on the play-off, and only after that will we look at the group opponents.”
After the success of the previous tournament, won by Algeria, Qatar is again gearing up to host the regional showpiece. Youssef, a star for Tunisian outfit Club Africain, expressed his confidence in Qatar’s ability to deliver a tournament that lives up to – and even exceeds – its predecessor.
“Qatar has massive, really excellent infrastructure,” he said. “They have experience in putting on major tournaments, most notably the World Cup. Hosting the World Cup gave them even more experience, and the 2025 Arab Cup will be even better than the last edition.”
Four years ago, the Mediterranean Knights fell to Sudan in the qualifying match and Yousef is determined that they will right that wrong for the current edition of the regional showpiece.
“We aim to do more than just turn up,” Youssef said. “We want to go as far as possible through hard work and focus.”
Libya are heading into the Arab Cup with momentum, following a strong finish to African qualifying. The team has recently delivered one of their most consistent spells and competed fiercely even against World Cup-bound Cabo Verde, forcing a 3-3 draw in the penultimate qualifier.
“Yes, the results were better,” he admitted. “That’s thanks to the effort and work we put in, both the coaching staff and my team-mates. God willing, the Arab Cup will help us to develop further, because right now we’re in a building phase.”
The Arab Cup derives its unique character from the cultural and geographical closeness of the participating teams, a factor that shapes the style and intensity of the matches. “Of course, Arab match-ups always have their own particular feel in terms of results and atmosphere,” Youssef said. “But there are Arab teams that have made major strides in recent years.”
“My personal goal is to play well both with my club and for Libya, and to play professionally in Europe. I want to win titles with Club Africain and to go as far as we can in the Arab Cup with Libya. After that, we’ll work to get to the African Cup of Nations and then the World Cup.”
