It feels like just yesterday that the world rallied behind Morocco as it made its historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Finishing fourth— a first for any Arab or African team in history— it’s nearly time to do it all over again for the Lions of the Atlas as in less than eight months, all eyes will turn to Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, as the countries prepare to jointly host the next edition of football’s biggest tournament.
Expected to kick off on June 11 and run until July 19, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is already shaping up to be one for the books with several Arab nations already punching their tickets to North America for another chance to prove that our region’s golden era is just starting.
At this stage, 21 teams (including hosts) have already secured their place in next year’s World Cup, with the Arab world proudly claiming nearly a quarter of those slots: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan.
Notably, in addition to being Jordan’s first-ever appearance— and Algeria’s first since 2014, when they were knocked out by eventual champions Germany in a historic round of 16 clash— this edition of the quadrennial event will also mark the first time that all three Maghreb nations qualify together at the same time. It will also be the World Cup with the most Arab participants, suppressing 2022’s edition, which featured four countries from our neck of the woods.
A handful of Arab nations are still fighting for a place, and the race is far from over. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, and Iraq are amongst those that are still in contention, battling it out in the final round of the Asian qualifiers, chasing what would either be a long-awaited comeback or a history-making debut.