Analysis: Why does North African football outperform the Middle East on the world stage?
DUBAI: Four years ago, Morocco smashed the glass ceiling for Arab teams at the World Cup. A sensational run to the semifinal, where they lost 2-0 to France, goes beyond the wildest dreams of even European and South American nations, never mind those from the region.
Arab teams from North Africa have always been several steps ahead of their Middle Eastern counterparts.
Egypt were the first Arab side to participate in the World Cup, in the tournament’s second edition in Italy all the way back in 1934. Morocco were the first to play in the group stages, at Mexico 1970. Tunisia were first to record a victory — a 3-1 win over Mexico in 1978.
Algeria were the first to record two wins in the group stages at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Morocco were the first to reach the knockouts stages in 1986, and, gloriously, the first to reach the semifinals four years ago in Qatar.
