For eight nations at the ongoing FIFA Arab Cup™, training and match schedules will be adjusted today to allow for an even bigger event to, temporarily at least, occupy their thoughts.
The Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup™ is always a huge occasion throughout the Arab world. That’s doubly the case this time around as Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, along with hosts of the previous global showpiece and the current regional one are all gathering in Qatar.
Throw Iraq, set to feature at March’s Play-Off Tournament, into the mix and it’s fair to understand why attention will be diverted from Doha to DC for a couple of hours.
Tunisia have struggled through their first two Arab Cup outings, losing to Syria and then being held by Palestine but as head coach Sami Trabelsi explained to FIFA, it has been a difficult juggling act with the team involved in one competition while gearing up for another.
Joking that he had considered taking a private plane back and forth, Trabelsi was, like fans all over the world, desperate to know who the Eagles of Carthage will be grouped with next year.
“No, no, there is no private flight! We will arrange the training time though and sit all together in the hotel and watch. There are so many good teams and so many good players now going to the World Cup so it will be really exciting for sure.
“The World Cup is the best thing in football. I played the World Cup as a player and for sure I hope to be on the bench now as a coach.”
One nation that won’t be there but who are just as excited as the rest of the planet is Arab Cup surprise-packets Syria. Defender Ahmad Faqa told FIFA that he’s anticipating a situation where either an Asian or African Arab nation will cause a real stir in North America next year.
“We’ve seen the way that Asian football is developing and the standard is now very high, but then when you consider Morocco [who finished fourth at Qatar 2022] the possibility is huge that an African and Asian nation could win the World Cup.
“What they did in the last tournament was amazing so they’re definitely a team to watch.”
Saudi Arabia are another nation headed back to the World Cup, with returning coach Herve Renard helping to secure a seventh appearance for the Green Falcons.
At the previous edition, forward Saleh Al Shehri played an integral part in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history, scoring the leveller in a 2-1 win over eventual champions Argentina. As he told FIFA, he’s eagerly anticipating the draw and learning his nation’s fate.
“It will be great to see which country we will be going to and where we can base ourselves because we want to make sure that we do much better at the next World Cup than we did at the last one.
“Now, there are so many teams that will participate so it’s hard to think of wanting to face or avoid certain nations but I’m good if we avoid Argentina again; we already have that win over them, so no, no, we don’t need to see them again!”
That’s the opposite viewpoint of Iraqi winger Hasan Abdulkareem. A self-proclaimed “massive fan”, the 27-year-old is desperate to face Argentina should his nation successfully navigate the Play-Off Tournament.
“I like to have the ball, go one-on-one with players and dribble and I base a lot of my game on Lionel Messi. So, if I could choose any nation to draw to play at the World Cup then there is no doubt that the answer is Argentina!”
Abdulkareem and his Iraq teammates, along with the other seven Arab nations headed to the global showpiece won’t have to wait long to learn their fate with the Final Draw taking place at the Kennedy Center today at 12:00 Eastern Time.
