FIFA World Arab Cup

[HibeeJibee]

Starts a week on Tuesday.

Rather an odd concept and tournament for FIFA to introduce IMO... but with Confederations Cup now abolished, it's acting as the warm-up tournament for WC in Qatar.

https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/arabcup/arabcup2021

Most of the reduced quota of venues in use next year feature - but not the Iconic Stadium in Lusail which isn't finished.


Straightforward format... 4 groups of 4 > QFs > SFs > 3rd-4th & Final.

Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Djibouti, Comoros and Kuwait got eliminated in one-off qualifier playoffs in June... South Sudan scratched... at last minute Algeria and Morocco have decided to send their B teams.


Groupstage features some regional grudgematches like Qatar v Bahrain and a derby between Egypt and the Sudan.

There could be some politically tasty knockout ties including Egypt v Palestine and Qatar v prettymuch half the other entrants.

Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be considered favourites.


Group A
Tue 30 Nov     Qatar v Bahrain, Iraq v Oman
Fri 3 Dec          Bahrain v Iraq, Oman v Qatar
Mon 6 Dec      Oman v Bahrain, Qatar v Iraq

Group B
Tue 30 Nov     Tunisia v Mauretania, UAE v Syria
Fri 3 Dec          Mauritania v UAE, Syria v Tunisia
Mon 6 Dec      Syria v Mauretania, Tunisia v UAE

Group C
Wed 1 Dec     Morocco B v Palestine, Saudi Arabia v Jordan
Sat 4 Dec         Jordan v Morocco B, Palestine v Saudi Arabia
Tue 7 Dec        Morocco B v Saudi Arabia, Jordan v Palestine

Group D
Wed 1 Dec     Algeria B v the Sudan, Egypt v Lebanon
Sat 4 Dec         Lebanon v Algeria B, the Sudan v Egypt
Tue 7 Dec        Algeria B v Egypt, Lebanon v the Sudan

Quarter-Finals
Fri 10 Dec      Winner A v Runner-up B, Winner B v Runner-up A
Sat 11 Dec     Winner C v Runner-up D, Winner D v Runnerup C

Semi-Finals
Wed 15 Dec

Final
3rd-4th
Sat 18 Dec

Edited November 21, 2021 by HibeeJibee

[Charles Stiles]

I'm not a great lover of international sport so no expert on tournaments but is this the first time there's been one defined by and titled purely by ethnicity? Thought they'd always been geographical previously.

[Sergeant Wilson]

1 hour ago, HibeeJibee said:

Starts a week on Tuesday.

Rather an odd concept and tournament for FIFA to introduce IMO... but with Confederations Cup now abolished, it's acting as the warm-up tournament for WC in Qatar.

https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/arabcup/arabcup2021

Most of the reduced quota of venues in use next year feature - but not the Iconic Stadium in Lusail which isn't finished.


Straightforward format... 4 groups of 4 > QFs > SFs > 3rd-4th & Final.

Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Djibouti, Comoros and Kuwait got eliminated in one-off qualifier playoffs in June... South Sudan scratched... at last minute Algeria and Morocco have decided to send their B teams.


Groupstage features some regional grudgematches like Qatar v Bahrain and a derby between Egypt and the Sudan.

There could be some politically tasty knockout ties including Egypt v Palestine and Qatar v prettymuch half the other entrants.

Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be considered favourites.


Group A
Tue 30 Nov     Qatar v Bahrain, Iraq v Oman
Fri 3 Dec          Bahrain v Iraq, Oman v Qatar
Mon 6 Dec      Oman v Bahrain, Qatar v Iraq

Group B
Tue 30 Nov     Tunisia v Mauretania, UAE v Syria
Fri 3 Dec          Mauritania v UAE, Syria v Tunisia
Mon 6 Dec      Syria v Mauretania, Tunisia v UAE

Group C
Wed 1 Dec     Morocco B v Palestine, Saudi Arabia v Jordan
Sat 4 Dec         Jordan v Morocco B, Palestine v Saudi Arabia
Tue 7 Dec        Morocco B v Saudi Arabia, Jordan v Palestine

Group D
Wed 1 Dec     Algeria B v the Sudan, Egypt v Lebanon
Sat 4 Dec         Lebanon v Algeria B, the Sudan v Egypt
Tue 7 Dec        Algeria B v Egypt, Lebanon v the Sudan

Quarter-Finals
Fri 10 Dec      Winner A v Runner-up B, Winner B v Runner-up A
Sat 11 Dec     Winner C v Runner-up D, Winner D v Runnerup C

Semi-Finals
Wed 15 Dec

Final
3rd-4th
Sat 18 Dec

What kind of shitey excuse did South Sudan come up with?

[Aubrey Maturin]

4 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

What kind of shitey excuse did South Sudan come up with?

Who knows but they lost the first fixture they played against Tusker FC 3-1 .    A nice beer is Tusker.

Anyway there are B teams in the tournie, worse than the Lowland League.

[welshbairn]

1 hour ago, HibeeJibee said:

Starts a week on Tuesday.

Rather an odd concept and tournament for FIFA to introduce IMO... but with Confederations Cup now abolished, it's acting as the warm-up tournament for WC in Qatar.

https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/arabcup/arabcup2021

Most of the reduced quota of venues in use next year feature - but not the Iconic Stadium in Lusail which isn't finished.


Straightforward format... 4 groups of 4 > QFs > SFs > 3rd-4th & Final.

Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Djibouti, Comoros and Kuwait got eliminated in one-off qualifier playoffs in June... South Sudan scratched... at last minute Algeria and Morocco have decided to send their B teams.


Groupstage features some regional grudgematches like Qatar v Bahrain and a derby between Egypt and the Sudan.

There could be some politically tasty knockout ties including Egypt v Palestine and Qatar v prettymuch half the other entrants.

Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be considered favourites.


Group A
Tue 30 Nov     Qatar v Bahrain, Iraq v Oman
Fri 3 Dec          Bahrain v Iraq, Oman v Qatar
Mon 6 Dec      Oman v Bahrain, Qatar v Iraq

Group B
Tue 30 Nov     Tunisia v Mauretania, UAE v Syria
Fri 3 Dec          Mauritania v UAE, Syria v Tunisia
Mon 6 Dec      Syria v Mauretania, Tunisia v UAE

Group C
Wed 1 Dec     Morocco B v Palestine, Saudi Arabia v Jordan
Sat 4 Dec         Jordan v Morocco B, Palestine v Saudi Arabia
Tue 7 Dec        Morocco B v Saudi Arabia, Jordan v Palestine

Group D
Wed 1 Dec     Algeria B v the Sudan, Egypt v Lebanon
Sat 4 Dec         Lebanon v Algeria B, the Sudan v Egypt
Tue 7 Dec        Algeria B v Egypt, Lebanon v the Sudan

Quarter-Finals
Fri 10 Dec      Winner A v Runner-up B, Winner B v Runner-up A
Sat 11 Dec     Winner C v Runner-up D, Winner D v Runnerup C

Semi-Finals
Wed 15 Dec

Final
3rd-4th
Sat 18 Dec

Highland League prices for the group games, £8.

[HibeeJibee]

1 hour ago, Charles Stiles said:

is this the first time there's been one defined by and titled purely by ethnicity? Thought they'd always been geographical previously.

There have been previous Arab Cups but not run by FIFA or a confederation. It seems you're correct: only equivalents could be the football tournaments of the Islamic Games and Arab Games.
 

47 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

What kind of shitey excuse did South Sudan come up with?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_FIFA_Arab_Cup#Notes

South Sudan, which is not part of the Arab world, also participated in the qualifying stage.
Match was awarded to Jordan as multiple players and staff had positive test results upon their arrival.

[Moomintroll]

How come Dundee United aren't sending a team?

[topcat(The most tip top)]

I'm not a great lover of international sport so no expert on tournaments but is this the first time there's been one defined by and titled purely by ethnicity? Thought they'd always been geographical previously.

The Arab world is a geographic area as well as a linguistic and cultural one.

[Ray Patterson]

6 hours ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

What kind of shitey excuse did South Sudan come up with?

Not being an Arab state?

[HibeeJibee]

Saudi Arabia have decided to send an U23 side and Egypt have decided to select only domestic-based players.

Only a few countries played warm-up friendlies last week, most being engaged in WC qualifiers.

Qatar lost 4-0 in Serbia and drew 2-2 in Azerbaijan... Jordan won 2-0 in Kosovo and lost 1-0 in Belarus... Palestine v Comoros in Istanbul was cancelled... Bahrain beat Kyrgyzstan 4-2 after losing 2-3 to Morocco B "over 4 separate 30-minute quarters".

Hosts should be well-drilled having already payed 18 internationals this calendar year (despite withdrawing from Copa America) including reaching Gold Cup SFs.

Edited November 22, 2021 by HibeeJibee

[Charles Stiles]

23 hours ago, HibeeJibee said:

There have been previous Arab Cups but not run by FIFA or a confederation. It seems you're correct: only equivalents could be the football tournaments of the Islamic Games and Arab Games.
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_FIFA_Arab_Cup#Notes

South Sudan, which is not part of the Arab world, also participated in the qualifying stage.
Match was awarded to Jordan as multiple players and staff had positive test results upon their arrival.

I know there's been numerous self-organised tournaments around the world  based on various criteria over the years.  I'm just surprised FIFA have chosen now to take it under their wing. 

21 hours ago, topcat(The most tip top) said:

The Arab world is a geographic area as well as a linguistic and cultural one.

I appreciate that.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

I think I’ve figured out what’s going on

Starting after “Le tournoi” in France 1997

The warmup tournament for all the following World Cup hosts was always the FIFA confederations cup. The confederations cup has now died so a new warm up tournament is required even if France, Italy and Argentina aren’t interested

FIFA putting their badge on an Arab tournament is new but they’ve been endorsing the pre World Cup dress rehearsal for a quarter of a century

Plus ça change, plus ce la même chose

And given the question marks over the hosts abilities to deliver the real deal practicing with a 16 team tournament instead of eight is probably a good idea

[HibeeJibee]

Most of the squads have been announced - and to my surprise there are actually a smattering of European-based players involved.

Iraq have a man from Viborg in Denmark... Maurentania have 2 players from Greece and 1 from Cluj in Romania... Tunisia bring talent from Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Brondby in Denmark and Rubin Kazan in Russia... Palestine take a keeper from Swedish 2nd tier and Lebanon bring 2 players from the same league.

Jordan and Syria are tbc; former has 1 from Belgium; latter 4 from Sweden, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Canada.

However if you want "star names" your best bets are the managers. Dick Advocaat leads Iraq... a much travelled Branko Ivankovic is the Oman boss... Bert van Marwijk gaffers the UAE... Carlos Quieroz guides Egypt... and it turns out Algeria B's manager is ex-Rangers player Madjid Bougherra.

Indeed only 6 out of 16 are led by Arabs and just 4 of those by a native of their own country.

[Salvo Montalbano]

On 21/11/2021 at 16:00, HibeeJibee said:

Group D
Wed 1 Dec     Algeria B v the Sudan, Egypt v Lebanon
Sat 4 Dec         Lebanon v Algeria B, the Sudan v Egypt
Tue 7 Dec        Algeria B v Egypt, Lebanon v the Sudan

Did Sudan go bust and have to re-form in a lower division of the African League?

[Highlandmagar]

40 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

Did Sudan go bust and have to re-form in a lower division of the African League?

Sudansevco?

[topcat(The most tip top)]

They shouldn't really be  "The Sudan" now that there's another one 

But the Sudanese guy that runs a Khartoum Cafe  in Tollcross is always very friendly and his falafels are good so they're my team for the tournament

ETA: Although given that there's a revolution happening in Sudan at the moment I suspect they may be distracted

Edited November 24, 2021 by topcat(The most tip top)

[lichtie23]

20 hours ago, HibeeJibee said:

Most of the squads have been announced - and to my surprise there are actually a smattering of European-based players involved.

Iraq have a man from Viborg in Denmark... Maurentania have 2 players from Greece and 1 from Cluj in Romania... Tunisia bring talent from Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Brondby in Denmark and Rubin Kazan in Russia... Palestine take a keeper from Swedish 2nd tier and Lebanon bring 2 players from the same league.

Jordan and Syria are tbc; former has 1 from Belgium; latter 4 from Sweden, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Canada.

However if you want "star names" your best bets are the managers. Dick Advocaat leads Iraq... a much travelled Branko Ivankovic is the Oman boss... Bert van Marwijk gaffers the UAE... Carlos Quieroz guides Egypt... and it turns out Algeria B's manager is ex-Rangers player Madjid Bougherra.

Indeed only 6 out of 16 are led by Arabs and just 4 of those by a native of their own country.

Advocaat resigned as Iraq Head Coach yesterday 

[HibeeJibee]

On 23/11/2021 at 19:11, HibeeJibee said:

Jordan and Syria are tbc; former has 1 from Belgium; latter 4 from Sweden, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Canada.

They travelled.

Tunisia called-up injury replacement from San Antonio.


Computerised offsides:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59461288

[Barry Ferguson's Hat]

AND IT'S LIVE
 

(on youtube)

[HibeeJibee]

Iraq 1-1 Oman
Qatar 1-0 Bahrain

Tunisia 5-1 Mauretania
UAE 2-1 Syria

So successful has computerisation been at speeding-up the games that Iraq's equaliser came a full 8mins into stoppage time in their tie while Mauretania's consolation came 12mins in. Fully one-third of today's goals occurred during injury time.

Edited November 30, 2021 by HibeeJibee