The 10th edition of the Arab Cup kicked off this past Tuesday in the Qatari capital of Doha. Involving all national teams from Mauritania to Iraq, Arab sides will be facing each other for the next two weeks running from November 30 to December 18.
Serving as a prelude preparation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup that is also set to be held in Qatar in a year almost day for day, the tournament will see four groups of four teams try and snatch the much-coveted title.
Some of you might have already noticed that some of the region’s stars, including Egyptian Mohammed Salah, Algerian Riyad Mahrez and Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech, have not been called up to partake in the competition. That is because only players that compete in their domestic leagues are eligible to represent their country in the ongoing championship.
The opening day of the Arab cup saw hosts Qatar narrowly defeat Bahrain with a single goal while their Tunisian counterparts overcame their Mauritanian homologues 5-1 in an entertaining game to say the least. Iraq shared their three points with Oman in a stale fixture while Syria enters the competition with a loss by losing 2-1 to the strong-looking UAE.
Full of promises and exciting games, the Arab World will be put on the international stage and we hope to be seeing some surprises in the weeks to come.
