FIFA Arab Cup: Tunisia drawn with hosts Qatar; Morocco and Egypt set to face Gulf giants

The draw for the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup was held on Sunday in Doha, Qatar, at the Raffles Hotel.

The competition will take place in Qatar from December 1 to 18 and will feature 16 Arab national teams divided into four groups. This edition once again brings together some of Africa’s finest Arab footballing nations alongside their Arab counterparts from Asia.

The tournament is held under the auspices of FIFA for the second consecutive time since its inaugural event in 2021, signaling growing global recognition. Ahead of the main event, qualification matches are scheduled for November 25 and 26.

These qualifiers will involve 14 of the lowest-ranked Arab national teams, split evenly between Africa and Asia, according to the FIFA rankings released in April.

The seven winners will advance to the group stage, joining hosts Qatar, Algeria (the defending champions), three African teams and four Asian teams.

The African Arab teams are well represented across the competition. Powerhouses such as Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria are seeded directly into the group stage, promising certain African presence for African football fans.

Meanwhile, nations like Mauritania, Comoros, Sudan, Libya, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Somalia will battle it out in the qualifiers for a chance to compete on the bigger stage.

The qualification fixtures, all single-leg matches held in Qatar, are as follows:

• Oman vs Somalia

• Bahrain vs Djibouti

• Syria vs South Sudan

• Palestine vs Libya

• Lebanon vs Sudan

• Kuwait vs Mauritania

• Yemen vs Comoros

The tournament groups are:

Group A: Qatar, Tunisia, Winner of Syria vs South Sudan, Winner of Palestine vs Libya

Group B: Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Winner of Oman vs Somalia, Winner of Yemen vs Comoros

Group C: Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Winner of Kuwait vs Mauritania

Group D: Algeria, Iraq, Winner of Bahrain vs Djibouti, Winner of Lebanon vs Sudan

The tournament kicks off with a match between host nation Qatar and the winner of the Palestine vs Libya qualifier.