Four Arab football teams have a great chance of confirming their presence at the World Cup in Russia next summer. The Saudi team was the first Arab team to qualify to the World Cup after occupying second place in the second group in the Asian qualifiers along with Japan. The Egyptian national team was the second Arab team to succeed in reaching the World Cup after the dramatic victory over the Congolese team on Sunday with two goals to one—so that the team secures the second Arab seat in the World Cup. Arab Africans have a strong chance of having their teams in the World Cup, with Tunisia leading the group in Group A with 13 points. Tunisia, known as the Carthage Eagles, will play the last game against Libya next month and need to win or draw a tie in any score in order to ensure a pass to the finals regardless of the rest of the results. Besides the Eagles, there is a great opportunity for the Moroccan team to qualify for the finals, awaiting the outcome of the two games against Gabon and Ivory Coast. Morocco is in second place with six points behind Ivory Coast with eight points. The Syrian team was on the verge of reaching the World Cup in the match held on Tuesday afternoon and ended with the loss of Syria by two goals to one after the extension of the game for an extra time and Syria wasting a sure goal in the final seconds, in which the ball hit the left pole. This goal would have ensured the Syrian team reaching the World Cup. The 1998 World Cup in France was the only one in which three Arab teams, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Morocco, took part, while Arab participation was limited to one or two representatives in most of the other World Cups. The World Cup draw will be held on 1 December and will be held according to the monthly rating for the month of October. The Egyptian team will be in the second category with the top teams in the world. The presence of the Egyptian team in the second category will distance them from facing any African team because they mostly declined in rating. This opens the door to an Egyptian-Arab confrontation in the World Cup. The Saudi team may fall in the same group as Egyptian. Saudi Arabia may be in the third category, which makes them fall with the Egyptian team. Regardless of which team will face the Pharaohs in the World Cup, everyone hopes to see a strong performance of the team and good games against the world teams.
