The Peninsula
Reigning Asian champions Qatar will take on regional heavyweights Iraq and two other qualifiers in the group stage of the inaugural FIFA Arab Cup 2021, the draw revealed yesterday.
The two Arab football giants have been drawn in Group A and will be joined by the winners of two qualifying matches: Oman vs Somalia and Bahrain vs Kuwait in the December 1-18 tournament.
FIFA’s Director of Competitions, Manolo Zubiria conducted yesterday’s draw in the presence of FIFA legends Wael Gomaa (Egypt), Nawaf Al Temyat (Saudi Arabia), Haytham Mustafa (Sudan) and Younus Mahmood (Iraq) at the Katara Opera House.
A host of top officials, including the President of Qatar Olympic Committee, H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of Union of Arab Football Associations, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Hassan Al Thawadi, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Chief Executive Officer Nasser Al Khater, President of the Qatar Football Association Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani and coaches of the participating teams were among the guests at the spectacular draw ceremony which was held under strict COVID-19 protocols.
Twenty-three Arab nations will compete in the event which will kick off in December with the qualifying round. Commenting on the draw, Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said the home tournament is really important. “For us, it is an important event because we can evaluate how we will perform at the World Cup next year,” Sanchez said yesterday.
“In my opinion, it is a strong group though we have confirmed only one opponent. The other (possible) opponents (Oman, Somalia, Bahrain or Kuwait) we may face are also strong and hopefully, we can perform well and qualify for the next round,” Sanchez added.
“If we want to be one of the favorites or to reach far in the competition, we’ll have to prove on the pitch. These rankings are just numbers on paper. You need to prove it in the field.
Hopefully, we’re going to perform well and we can show good performance. If we do that, it’s we have a better chance to reach far. Which will be good for us as we are looking forward to the World Cup. So hopefully we’re going to perform well and we can bring some good results,” Sanchez said. FIFA President said last night: “This will be a fantastic event.
The first of many, hopefully. The first Arab Cup will be played here towards the end of the year in Qatar. This event will be used to unite the Arab world. Around 450 million people will cheer and cherish and will find out which out of the 23 teams is the best in the Arab world,” Infantino said.
“Everything is almost ready in Qatar to host the Arab Cup and the World Cup. Much more important is the celebration of Arab unity, a celebration of fraternity, a celebration of football which will set the scene for what would be the best ever FIFA World Cup in 2022 here in Qatar,” Infantino said.
Al Khater, CEO of Qatar 2022 accepted the fact that football in the Arab region in general has reached a higher level and that makes the FIFA Arab Cup tournament a highly competitive one. “The technical level of football in all the countries has been improving over the years.
For us, what’s important is that this is going to be a successful tournament from a technical perspective and from a footballing perspective. “This is an important milestone for us. The Confederations Cup was always the main test event for previous World Cups.
For us, this will be a 23 team tournament, 16 teams in the group stages. So it is a big tournament and it is a big opportunity for the celebration of football in the Arab world,” Al Khater said.
One of the biggest international tournaments this year, the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 will see the seven qualifying teams advancing to the group stage where they will take on the nine highest-ranked teams, including Qatar.
The four group winners and four group runners-up will proceed to the knockout stage: quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place playoff, and final. The matches will take place at six Qatar 2022 stadiums, with the venues set to be confirmed in due course.