Opinions of sports fans varied regarding the performance of Arab teams in the 2026 World Cup held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Many asserted that the teams of Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, and Algeria did not meet expectations, while Morocco and Egypt exited the tournament after reaching the quarter-finals and round of 16 respectively, amid a relatively honorable performance for the Arabs.

Modest showing of the Saudi Green

Mohammed Al-Ghamdi told 'Sabq': 'We expected the Green to perform better than they did in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, especially after a positive 1-1 draw against Uruguay in the first match, but the 4-0 loss to Spain was disappointing, followed by a goalless draw against Cape Verde and elimination from the group stage.' He noted that the team played the World Cup with a new coach, Donis, who took over the technical leadership shortly before the tournament, adding: 'Although that is not a sufficient excuse for the early exit with such lackluster performance.'

Al-Ghamdi added: 'We trust the promising generation of the Green, and we hope they will make an honorable presence and even win the 2027 Gulf Cup and Asian Cup, both hosted by the Kingdom.'

Basel Al-Ghamdi shared his opinion, saying: 'We tell the Green players, you will be compensated well, and I would like to commend the spirit of the Moroccan team that reached the quarter-finals, and before them the Egyptian team that reached the round of 16.'

Morocco and Egypt alone salvage the image

Nawaf Bandar told 'Sabq': 'Unfortunately, the decline of Arab teams in the group stage was surprising and unjustified, except for Morocco and Egypt, which held the Arab head high.' He added: 'We did not expect such a decline from the Saudi and Algerian teams, despite the latter reaching the round of 32.'

For his part, Abdulkarim Al-Wadei believes that the Arab participation in the 2026 World Cup was timid and did not live up to the image fans had drawn before the tournament, pointing to the large gap revealed by the matches between Arab teams and their global counterparts.

Clear gap between Arab Africa and Asia

Ahmed Bakr pointed out that African Arab teams clearly outperformed their Asian counterparts in this World Cup, citing Algeria reaching the round of 32, Egypt the round of 16, and Morocco the quarter-finals as the biggest Arab achievement in World Cup history, compared to the early exit of all Asian Arab teams from the group stage.

He concluded his interview with 'Sabq' by saying: 'We did not expect the Saudi team to leave from the group stage, and the performance of Tunisia, Qatar, Iraq, and Jordan surprised us. However, we are optimistic about the future of Arab football, especially with Morocco close to organizing the 2030 World Cup and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup.'