Al-Akhdar (Saudi Arabia) exited the group stage and ranked 38th.

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Al Jazeera – Sports:

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) published a lengthy report on the ranking of the 48 participating teams in the World Cup. Here we will only publish the ranking of the Arab teams and the matches they played. The 2026 World Cup, the largest World Cup ever, ended with Spain winning the title for the second time in its history, after an outstanding campaign in 8 matches in which they conceded only one goal. Meanwhile, Argentina, the champion of the 2022 Qatar edition, lost the final this time by a clean sheet, settling for the runner-up position. For its part, England achieved its best World Cup performance since winning the title on home soil in 1966, after clinching the bronze final match against France with an exciting 6-4 result at Miami Stadium, thanks to a hat-trick by Bukayo Saka.

The report notes that teams eliminated from the same round are ranked according to the following criteria, in order:

* Total points earned in all tournament matches (matches decided by penalty shootouts are counted as draws)

* Goal difference in all tournament matches.

* Total goals scored in all tournament matches.

* If two or more teams remain tied after applying these criteria, they share the same position in the final ranking.

7: Morocco

The Atlas Lions were unable to repeat their historic feat of reaching the semi-finals in Qatar 2022, as they faced France again, but this time in the quarter-finals. Morocco finished the group stage in second place in Group Three, after drawing with Brazil and beating Scotland and Haiti. Then, Mohamed Wahbi's men continued their journey by eliminating the Netherlands and Canada, one of the two host nations, before their run was halted with a 2-0 loss to Didier Deschamps' team in Boston.

Notably, Switzerland finished in the same ranking as Morocco (7th), as they exited the tournament against Argentina in the quarter-finals after conceding two late goals. The Swiss team had topped Group Two, after beating Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada and drawing with Qatar, then continued by defeating Algeria and then Colombia on penalties. Reaching the quarter-finals is Switzerland's best achievement since 1954.

15: Egypt

Egypt's World Cup campaign changed the world's view of the Pharaohs, as they overcame the disappointment of exiting the group stage in 2018 and reached the round of 16. In this edition, Egypt achieved its first ever win in the tournament's history, and also its first win in the knockout stages. The Pharaohs almost pulled off one of the biggest World Cup surprises when they led Argentina in Atlanta, but Mohamed Salah and his teammates could not hold on, as the world champions rallied and won the match with another dramatic comeback in the final minutes.

30: Algeria

Algeria faced defending champion Argentina in its first match, which threw it off balance and lost 0-3, but it quickly dispelled doubts by winning 2-1 against Jordan, then drawing with Austria 3-3 in an exciting match, but then lost in the round of 32 to Switzerland 2-0.

38: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Economy

The Asian representative began its tournament campaign with a promising 1-1 draw against Uruguay in Miami, where it was leading, but the loss to Spain was followed by a goalless draw with Cape Verde, leaving it in fourth place in Group Eight.

41: Qatar

The Asian champion achieved its first World Cup point with a draw against Switzerland in its opening match in Group Two, but it finished the tournament in fourth place after subsequent defeats at the hands of both host Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

44: Jordan

Jordan was drawn in the tough Group Ten alongside Argentina, Algeria and Austria, and suffered three defeats in its first World Cup appearance. Nevertheless, Al-Nashama managed to find the net in all three matches, leaving their attacking mark in their historic first appearance on the world stage.

47: Tunisia

The Eagles of Carthage had their worst World Cup participation, suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat against Sweden in the group stage opener. Despite changing the coach and appointing Hervé Renard instead of Sabri Lamouchi, results did not improve, losing 0-4 to Japan and then 1-3 to the Netherlands.

48: Iraq

Iraq ended a 40-year absence from the World Cup, but its return was short-lived as the Lions of Mesopotamia were eliminated in the group stage after three consecutive heavy defeats against Norway, France and Senegal.