As the first ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East enters its final countdown, excitement across the region is growing. Which teams will be representing the Arab world teams in Qatar? Here’s a quick list of all of them:
Qatar
The host nation for this years tournament will kick off the event on November 20 at 8pm GST with a match against Ecuador. It will also be their first ever appearance in the tournament’s 92-year history.
Qatar’s national team played its first FIFA World Cup qualifying match in 1977. The national team came closest to qualifying for the World Cup in the 1990s, when the team reached the final stages of two World Cup qualifications in 1990 and 1998.
On the official FIFA Men’s World Ranking, Qatar is ranked at 51.
Saudi Arabia
Competing in it’s sixth FIFA World Cup and second in a row, Saudi Arabia is ranked at 49 on the FIFA Men’s World Ranking. The nickname of the Saudi Arabian men’s national team are Al-Suqour (The Falcons) and Al-Akhdhar (The Green).
The Falcons first qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 1994 hosted by the USA, where they reached the round of 16. The Saudis qualified four more times for the tournaments in 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2018. Their performance in the 1994 World Cup is still their best performance to date.
Tunisia
The Tunisian national team will be competing in their sixth World Cup tournament this year in Qatar.
In their first appearance in the 1978 World Cup, Tunisia shocked the world when they managed to defeat Mexico 3-1 and draw with Germany before being eliminated from the tournament after the first round.
The team are referred to as the Eagles of Carthage and are ranked at 35 on the FIFA Men’s World Ranking.
Morocco
Known as the Atlas Lions, Morocco is currently the highest ranked Arab national team in the world with a FIFA Men’s World Ranking of 24. At one time, they were considered to be one of the top national football teams in the world when they were ranked 10th on the world rankings in 1998.
Their best performance to date was in the 1986 World Cup where they reached the round of 16. At that years tournament in Mexico, they managed to defeat Portugal by 3-1. During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Atlas Lions managed to draw 2-2 with Spain in the group finale.
Traditionally, their rivals are Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt, with the latter two not qualifying for the World Cup this year.
Arab musicians on FIFA soundtrack
The latest song released as part of the FIFA World Cup soundtrack called Light The Sky is composed entirely by Arab musicians. Emirati singer Balqees, Moroccan-Canadian Nora Fatehi, Iraqi Rahma Riad, Moroccan-Swedish singer/songwriter RedOne and Moroccan singer/songwriter Manal.