Holding the two tournaments at the same time sparked comparisons in several matters, including the performance of the Arab teams participating in each of the two continents.
Decline in Africa
The five Arab teams in Africa have been content to record one victory so far, out of 9 matches, which was at the feet of the “Atlas Lions” against Tanzania.
The teams of Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Mauritania have not been able to record any victory so far, after each of them played two matches.
The Arab fans were shocked by the lackluster performance of these teams and “unbelievable” results, such as Egypt’s last-minute draw against Mozambique (ranked 111th in the world), Tunisia’s defeat against Namibia (ranked 115th in the world), and Algeria’s draw against Angola (ranked 117th in the world).
As for the Mauritania national team, it is on the verge of exiting the tournament, after suffering two defeats against Burkina Faso and Angola.
The brilliance of the Arabs of Asia
In contrast to Africa, the Arab teams in the Asian Cup held in Qatar achieved outstanding results, and all of them maintained a reasonable chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds.
The best performance was for the Iraqi national team, which shocked the continent by defeating Japan (ranked 17th in the world), and securing the top spot in Group Four.
Likewise, the Jordanian team performed heroically against South Korea (ranked 23rd in the world), and almost won if it were not for a Korean equalizer in stoppage time.
The Gulf teams, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, put themselves one step away from qualifying, and achieved convincing victories.
Even the teams of Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, although they have not achieved victory yet, have performed strongly and maintained the chance of qualifying, in the event that the first wins over India, the second over Tajikistan, and the third over Hong Kong.
The opportunity to qualify also remains logical on paper for both Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman, and the chances seem possible to see 10 Arab teams in the round of 16 of the tournament.
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