World Cup 2026 report cards: Who got an A and who got an F? Grading the eight Arab teams
Hopes were high for Middle East and North Africa teams going into this summer’s World Cup finals.
The tournament in North America kicked off with a record eight teams from the Arab world taking part, including the likes of Morocco – semi-finalists four years ago – and Jordan, who were making their debut at the global gathering.
There were mixed fortunes for the nations involved and below, we take a look at how they performed and give them a final grade.
Morocco
Results – Group stage: Brazil 1 Morocco 1; Scotland 0 Morocco 1; Morocco 4 Haiti 2.
Last-32: Netherlands 1 Morocco 1 AET: Morocco win 3-2 on penalties.
Last-16: Canada 0 Morocco 3.
Quarter-final: France 2 Morocco 0.
Report: Following up their historic efforts at Qatar 2022 was always going to be a tough task but the Atlas Lions can look back at their results in North America with pride. Mohamed Ouahbi’s boys came through the challenge of taking on global heavyweights Brazil and the Netherlands, but struggled with the French test for a second World Cup running.
Star Pupil: Ismael Saibari. A superb effort from the attacker who not only scored three goals in three group-stage games but also earned a transfer to play club football at German giants Bayern Munich. Shame he was absent for the France game due to injury.
Team grade: A-
Morocco beat Canada – in pictures
Egypt
Results – Group stage: Belgium 1 Egypt 1; New Zealand 1 Egypt 3; Egypt 1 Iran 1.
Last-32: Australia 1 Egypt 1 AET. Egypt win 4-2 on penalties
Last-16: Argentina 3 Egypt 2.
Report: A history-making performance for the Egyptians who won a World Cup game, qualified out of the group stage and were victorious in a knockout-stage match all for the first time. There was a touch of indiscipline and tears after the late drama against Argentina but it should not overshadow their summer achievements.
Star pupil: Emam Ashour. Named as Egypt’s best player in the official Fifa rankings for the tournament after goals against Belgium and Australia. His performance certainly caught the eye and he could soon find himself plying his trade in Saudi Arabia, England or Scotland, if reports are to be believed.
Team grade: B+
Algeria
Results – Group stage: Argentina 3 Algeria 0; Jordan 1 Algeria 2; Algeria 3 Austria 3.
Last-32: Switzerland 2 Algeria 0.
Report: Unlucky to come up against the great Lionel Messi in their opening game – that would see them complain to organisers Fifa about the refereeing decisions – but then recovered to drag themselves into the knockout stage, where disappointing individual errors saw them head for a flight home.
Star pupil: Riyad Mahrez. Desert Warriors’ hero would come to the team’s rescue with two goals against Austria, sealing Algeria a knockout-stage place for only the second time in their history. The 35-year-old decided time was right for retirement after the Switzerland loss following a career that has seen him score 40 goals in 119 caps.
Grade: C
Jordan
Results – Group stage: Austria 3 Jordan 1; Jordan 1 Algeria 2; Argentina 3 Jordan 1.
Report: Should take pride from their World Cup debut that at the very least saw them find the back of the net in all three of their matches. They were also just eight minutes away from securing their first point only for Algeria to grab a late winner. Sharing a pitch with Argentina great Messi would also give the Middle East nation a memory to treasure.
Star pupil: Ali Olwan. Wrote his name into Jordanian record books by scoring their first World Cup goal – a sublime strike against Austria.
Grade: C-
Saudi Arabia
Results – Group stage: Saudi Arabia 1 Uruguay 1; Spain 4 Saudi Arabia 0; Cape Verde 0 Saudi Arabia 0.
Report: For all the huge sums of money invested in foreign talent to improve the Saudi Pro League, the national side fell short in North America, despite starting the tournament with a respectable draw with Uruguay. A thumping by eventual winners Spain was a reality check while the draw with minnows Cape Verde meant their tournament was over, costing Saudi Arabia Football Federation president Yasser Al Misehal his job.
Star pupil: Mohammed Al Owais. The Saudi goalkeeper earned a gold star for his superb performance in the Uruguay draw which saw him make nine saves.
Grade: D-
Qatar
Results – Group stage: Qatar 1 Switzerland 1; Canada 6 Qatar 0; Bosnia 3 Qatar 1.
Report: The 2022 hosts and Asian champions had experienced Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui at the helm and started the tournament by securing their first World Cup point in the draw with Switzerland. But it was downhill fast as a humiliating drubbing at the hands of co-hosts Canada – that saw Homam El Amin and Assim Omer Madibo sent-off – was followed by a loss to Bosnia that confirmed their exit.
Star pupil: Boualem Khoukhi. His stoppage-time header against Switzerland earned Qatar their historic draw in what was arguably the biggest moment in the country’s football history.
Grade: D-
Iraq
Results – Group stage: Iraq 1 Norway 4; France 3 Iraq 0; Senegal 5 Iraq 0.
Report: The unbridled joy at securing their first finals spot since 1986 was given a brutal reality check in what was the toughest of all qualifying groups. The Lions of Mesopotamia could take solace from having taken on two of world football’s biggest talents in Erling Haaland (Norway) and Kylian Mbappe (France), while an early red card for Rebin Sulaka made their task against Senegal a thankless one.
Star pupil: Aymen Hussein. Had the Iraqi nation dreaming big after he headed home a deserved equaliser against the Norwegians, albeit they were level for only four minutes.
Grade: E
Tunisia
Results – Group stage: Sweden 5 Tunisia 1; Tunisia 0 Japan 4; Tunisia 1 Netherlands 3.
Report: An unmitigated disaster of a trip from start to finish. A battering by Sweden in their first match saw coach Sabri Lamouchi sacked after just five matches in charge, having only taken over in January, becoming the first manager to lose his job after a single game of a World Cup. He was replaced by Herve Renard but the former Saudi Arabia and Morocco boss could not inspire the team who finished bottom of their group and their 12 goals conceded was joint worst in the entire stage.
Star pupil: A real struggle to pick one out but Hazem Mastouri’s header at least gave the Netherlands loss a semblance of respectability.
Grade: F
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