Contents

2021 FIFA Arab Cup

2021 FIFA Arab Cup

كأس العرب 2021 Kaʾs al-ʿārab 2021
Tournament details
Host country	Qatar
Dates	30 November – 18 December
Teams	16 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)	6 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Algeria (1st title)
Runners-up	Tunisia
Third place	Qatar
Fourth place	Egypt
Tournament statistics
Matches played	32
Goals scored	83 (2.59 per match)
Attendance	571,605 (17,863 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Seifeddine Jaziri (4 goals)
Best player(s)	Yacine Brahimi
Best goalkeeper	Raïs M'Bolhi
Fair play award	Morocco
← 2012 2025 →

The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup^[1] (Arabic: كأس العرب 2021) was the 10th edition of the Arab Cup, the Arab world's^{[note 1]} national team football tournament;^[2][3] it was the first edition under FIFA's jurisdiction,^[4] with previous editions having been organized by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). It took place between 30 November and 18 December in Qatar as a prelude and test event to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was also held in Qatar.^[3]

The tournament phase involved 16 teams, of which seven came through the qualifying round; all 23 teams competing were under the auspices of either the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) or the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Of the 16 teams, eight had also appeared in the 2012 edition; no team made their debut appearance at the Arab Cup. The 32 finals matches were played in six venues, which were also used for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[5] Host nation Qatar beat Egypt in the third-place match. In the final, Algeria played Tunisia on 18 December at the Al Bayt StadiuminAl Khor. Algeria won the match 2–0 after extra time to claim their first Arab Cup.

Algerian player Yacine Brahimi was voted the tournament's best player, winning the Golden Ball. Tunisia's Seifeddine Jaziri won the Golden Boot as he scored the most goals during the tournament with four. Algeria's Raïs M'Bolhi won the Golden Glove, awarded to the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets. It has been estimated that more than 500,000 people attended games during the tournament. Semi-automated offside technology was tested for the first time in this tournament.^[6]

Teams[edit]

Of the 23 participating teams,^[7] the top nine teams based on the April 2021 FIFA Ranking directly qualified to the group stage, while the remaining 14 teams played seven single-leg matches, with seven teams going through to the group stage.^[8] In the group stage, there were four groups of four teams in a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group qualifying to the knockout stage,^[9] which consisted of quarter-finals, semi-finals, a play-off for third place, and the final.^[10]

The 14 teams in the qualifiers were paired based on their April 2021 FIFA Ranking:^[10] the highest-ranked team in the qualifiers, Oman, played against the lowest-ranked team, Somalia.^[11] Lebanon, the second-highest ranked team, played against Djibouti, the second-lowest ranked team, and so on.^[11] The teams that won qualification matches 1, 2 and 3 occupied positions 2, 3 and 4 in pot 3, and the remaining teams were placed in pot 4 in order.^[10]

South Sudan forfeited their qualifying match due to the high number of COVID-19 cases among the South Sudan delegation.^[12] The Algerian FA decided in July 2020 to send the Algeria A' (local) team,^[13][14][15] however, their final squad included players from other Arab leagues to strengthen the team.^[16] The Moroccan FA also decided to send the Morocco A' (local) team,^[17][18] however, they also later strengthened the team with players from other Arab leagues.^[19][20]

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the FIFA World Ranking at the time of the draw.^[21]

Draw[edit]

The group stage draw took place on 27 April 2021 at 21:00 AST at the Katara Opera House in Doha.^[7][11] It was conducted by Manolo Zubiria, FIFA's director of competitions, and four former players: Wael Gomaa (Egypt), Nawaf Al-Temyat (Saudi Arabia), Haitham Mustafa (Sudan) and Younis Mahmoud (Iraq).^[22]

Method[edit]

The sixteen teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The draw started with pot 1 and completed with pot 4, from where a team was drawn and assigned to the first available group in the position of their pot (i.e. position 1 for pot 1).

The hosts Qatar were automatically seeded into pot 1 and assigned to position A1, while the remaining automatically qualified teams were seeded into their respective pots based on the FIFA World Ranking of April 2021 (shown in parentheses below). Syria, the lowest-ranked team that automatically qualified, were joined in pot 3 by the winners of qualification matches 1 to 3, while pot 4 contained the winners of qualification matches 4 to 7. Algeria, as the winners of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, were assigned to position D1.^[10]

Pot 1 Team Rank  Qatar 58  Tunisia 26  Algeria 33  Morocco 34

Pot 2 Team Rank  Egypt 46  Saudi Arabia 65  Iraq 68  United Arab Emirates 73

Pot 3 Team Rank  Syria 79 Prelim winner 1[a] — Prelim winner 2[b] Prelim winner 3[c]

Pot 4 Team Rank Prelim winner 4[d] — Prelim winner 5[e] Prelim winner 6[f] Prelim winner 7[g]

Squads[edit]

Only 15 players playing in non-Arab leagues were selected in the final 23-man squads: four in Sweden; two in England; one each in Denmark, Greece, Indonesia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Thailand and the United States.

Match officials[edit]

In October 2021, FIFA nominated 12 referees and 24 assistant referees from all six confederations, three from South America, two from Asia, Africa, North America and Europe, and one referee from Oceania. With the exception of Andrés Mattonte (Uruguay) and Facundo Tello (Argentina), all referees had previously officiated matches in a continental tournament. Iranian Alireza Faghani, Japanese Ryuji Sato, Gambian Bakary Gassama, Zambian Janny Sikazwe and New Zealander Matthew Conger also participated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.^[23]

Candidate referees were used at least twice. Iranian referee Alireza Faghani officiated the opening match between Tunisia and Mauritania. Germany's Daniel Siebert was responsible for the final match between Tunisia and Algeria, and he is the most refereed referee for matches in the tournament with four matches.

Venues[edit]

15km
10miles

6

5

4

3

2

1

3

4

5

6

Qualification[edit]

The 14 lowest-ranked teams in the FIFA World Ranking met on 7 April 2021, in a single knockout match. The best-ranked team met the lowest ranked team, the second-best played the second-lowest, and so on.

The match between Jordan and their opponents South Sudan was canceled, due to cases of COVID-19 infection for eight South Sudanese players. FIFA awarded a 3–0 victory in favor of Jordan.

Summary[edit]

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Libya	0–1	Sudan
Oman	2–1	Somalia
Jordan	3–0 (awd.)	South Sudan
Mauritania	2–0	Yemen
Lebanon	1–0	Djibouti
Palestine	3–1	Comoros
Bahrain	2–0	Kuwait

Matches[edit]

All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Libya	0–1	Sudan
	Report	Abdel Rahman 15' (pen.)

Attendance: 3,523

Referee: Saoud Ali Al-Adba (Qatar)

Oman	2–1	Somalia
Al-Ghassani 12' Al-Yahyaei 36' (pen.)	Report	Gigli 54'

Attendance: 551

Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)

Jordan	3–0 (awarded)[note 2]	South Sudan
	Report

Referee: Daniele Doveri (Italy)

Mauritania	2–0	Yemen
Diakhité 18' Tanjy 85'	Report

Attendance: 187

Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)

Lebanon	1–0	Djibouti
El-Helwe 46'	Report

Attendance: 739

Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)

Palestine	3–1	Comoros
Kharoub 35' Dabbagh 42' Batran 81'	Report	Djoumoi 5'

Attendance: 451

Referee: Daniele Doveri (Italy)

Bahrain	2–0	Kuwait
Haram 74' Isa 90+4'	Report

Attendance: 354

Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

Format[edit]

Of the 23 participating teams, the top nine teams based on the April 2021 FIFA World Ranking qualified directly to the group stage, while the remaining 14 teams played seven qualifying matches, of which seven qualified for the next stage. In the group stage, the teams were divided into four groups of four, with the two best teams from each group advancing to the quarter-finals.

Tiebreakers[edit]

The ranking of teams in the group stage is determined as follows:^[36]

1. Points obtained in all group matches (three points for a win, one for a draw, none for a defeat);
2. Goal difference in all group matches;
3. Number of goals scored in all group matches;
4. Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
5. Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question;
6. Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
7. Fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction could be applied to a player in a single match):
   • Yellow card: −1 point;
   • Indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
   • Direct red card: −4 points;
   • Yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;

8. Drawing of lots.

The knockout stage included all stages from the quarter-finals to the final match. The winner of each match advances to the next stage and the loser is eliminated. The losing teams of the semi-finals played the match for third place. In the final match, the winner got the Arab Cup. In all final cases, if the match ends in a tie, then extra time will be played. If the score is still equal after extra time, it is decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Schedule[edit]

All times are local, AST (UTC+3).^[37]

Group stage[edit]

Group A[edit]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Qatar (H)	3	3	0	0	6	1	+5	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Oman	3	1	1	1	5	3	+2	4
3	Iraq	3	0	2	1	1	4	−3	2
4	Bahrain	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4	1

Iraq	1–1	Oman
Abdulkareem 90+8' (pen.)	Report	Al-Yahyaei 78' (pen.)

Attendance: 1,576

Referee: Said Martínez (Honduras)

Qatar	1–0	Bahrain
Hatem 69'	Report

Attendance: 47,813

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Bahrain	0–0	Iraq
	Report

Attendance: 2,576

Referee: Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)

Oman	1–2	Qatar
Al-Hajri 74'	Report	Afif 32' (pen.) Durbin 90+7' (o.g.)

Attendance: 23,254

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

Oman	3–0	Bahrain
R. Al-Alawi 41' A. Al-Alawi 50' Al-Hajri 59'	Report

Attendance: 2,477

Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Qatar	3–0	Iraq
Ali 82' Afif 84' Al-Haydos 90+4'	Report

Attendance: 23,008

Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

Group B[edit]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tunisia	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	United Arab Emirates	3	2	0	1	3	2	+1	6
3	Syria	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
4	Mauritania	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	3

Tunisia	5–1	Mauritania
Jaziri 39', 45+2' Ben Larbi 42', 51' Msakni 90+1'	Report	Bessam 45+12' (pen.)

Attendance: 2,494

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

United Arab Emirates	2–1	Syria
Caio 24' Saleh 30'	Report	Alslamh 60'

Attendance: 4,129

Referee: Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)

Mauritania	0–1	United Arab Emirates
	Report	Ibrahim 90+3'

Attendance: 3,316

Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)

Syria	2–0	Tunisia
Kass Kawo 4' Anez 47'	Report

Attendance: 15,913

Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico)

Syria	1–2	Mauritania
Al Baher 52'	Report	Soueid 50' Tanjy 90+5'

Attendance: 8,539

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

Tunisia	1–0	United Arab Emirates
Jaziri 10'	Report

Attendance: 14,272

Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

Group C[edit]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Morocco	3	3	0	0	9	0	+9	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Jordan	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1	6
3	Saudi Arabia	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	1
4	Palestine	3	0	1	2	2	10	−8	1

Morocco	4–0	Palestine
Nahiri 31' Hafidi 56', 64' Benoun 87' (pen.)	Report

Attendance: 3,843

Referee: Matthew Conger (New Zealand)

Saudi Arabia	0–1	Jordan
	Report	Al-Dawsari 62' (o.g.)

Attendance: 4,777

Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

Jordan	0–4	Morocco
	Report	Jabrane 4' Benoun 25' Chibi 45+3' Rahimi 88' (pen.)

Attendance: 7,890

Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)

Palestine	1–1	Saudi Arabia
Rashid 45+2'	Report	Al-Hamdan 81'

Attendance: 3,075

Referee: Said Martínez (Honduras)

Morocco	1–0	Saudi Arabia
El Berkaoui 45+4' (pen.)	Report

Attendance: 8,502

Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)

Jordan	5–1	Palestine
Abdel-Rahman 9' (pen.) Al-Dardour 24' Al-Mardi 82' Al-Naimat 86', 90+1'	Report	Seyam 44'

Attendance: 9,750

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

Group D[edit]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Egypt	3	2	1	0	7	1	+6	7[a]	Advance to knockout stage
2	Algeria	3	2	1	0	7	1	+6	7[a]
3	Lebanon	3	1	0	2	1	3	−2	3
4	Sudan	3	0	0	3	0	10	−10	0

Algeria	4–0	Sudan
Bounedjah 11', 37' Benlamri 43' Soudani 46'	Report

Attendance: 2,203

Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Egypt	1–0	Lebanon
Afsha 71' (pen.)	Report

Attendance: 11,757

Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

Lebanon	0–2	Algeria
	Report	Brahimi 69' (pen.) Meziani 90+3'

Attendance: 9,405

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Sudan	0–5	Egypt
	Report	Refaat 4' Zizo 13' (pen.) El Wensh 31' H. Faisal 57' Sherif 80'

Attendance: 14,464

Referee: Matthew Conger (New Zealand)

Algeria	1–1	Egypt
Tougai 20'	Report	El Solia 60' (pen.)

Attendance: 32,418

Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)

Lebanon	1–0	Sudan
Abu Eshrein 76' (o.g.)	Report

Attendance: 5,991

Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico)

Knockout stage[edit]

The knockout stage was the second and final stage of the tournament, after the group stage. It started on 10 December with the quarter-finals and ended on 18 December following the final match that was held at Al Bayt StadiuminAl Khor. The best two teams from each group (8 in total) advance to the knockout stage to compete in a singles-elimination tournament. A match for third place was played between the two losing teams in the semi-finals.

If the match was tied at the end of the original playing time, two halves of extra time was played (15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners. Below is an arc for the knockout stage of the tournament. Teams in bold indicate the winners of the match.

Bracket[edit]

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	10 December – Al Rayyan (ECS)
	Tunisia	2
					15 December – Doha (S974)
	Oman	1
					Tunisia	1
	11 December – Al Wakrah
					Egypt	0
	Egypt (a.e.t.)	3
									18 December – Al Khor
	Jordan	1
									Tunisia	0
	10 December – Al Khor
									Algeria (a.e.t.)	2
	Qatar	5
					15 December – Doha (ATS)
	United Arab Emirates	0
					Qatar	1
	11 December – Doha (ATS)
					Algeria	2			Third place play-off
	Morocco	2 (3)
									18 December – Doha (S974)
	Algeria (p)	2 (5)
									Egypt	0 (4)
									Qatar (p)	0 (5)

Quarter-finals[edit]

Tunisia	2–1	Oman
Jaziri 16' Msakni 69'	Report	A. Al-Alawi 66'

Attendance: 21,329

Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

Qatar	5–0	United Arab Emirates
Salmeen 6' (o.g.) Ali 28' (pen.), 45+3' Khoukhi 36' (pen.) Hatem 44'	Report

Attendance: 63,439

Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)

Egypt	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Jordan
Mar. Hamdy 45+1' Refaat 100' Dawoud 119'	Report	Al-Naimat 12'

Attendance: 28,306

Referee: Said Martínez (Honduras)

Morocco	2–2 (a.e.t.)	Algeria
Nahiri 64' Benoun 111'	Report	Brahimi 62' (pen.) Belaïli 102'
Penalties
Rahimi Benoun Jabrane El Berkaoui	3–5	Belaïli Bendebka Bedrane Benayada Tougai

Attendance: 24,823

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

Semi-finals[edit]

Tunisia	1–0	Egypt
El Solia 90+5' (o.g.)	Report

Attendance: 36,427

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

Qatar	1–2	Algeria
Muntari 90+7'	Report	Benlamri 59' Belaïli 90+17'

Attendance: 42,405

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Third place play-off[edit]

Egypt	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Qatar
	Report
Penalties
Afsha El Solia Hegazi Fatouh Tawfik Sherif	4–5	Al-Haydos Khoukhi Hassan Alaaeldin Afif Boudiaf

Attendance: 30,978

Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)

Final[edit]

Tunisia	0–2 (a.e.t.)	Algeria
	Report	Sayoud 99' Brahimi 120+5'

Attendance: 60,456

Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

Statistics[edit]

Goalscorers[edit]

There were 83 goals scored in 32 matches, for an average of 2.59 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

Yazan Al-Naimat

Badr Benoun

Almoez Ali

2 goals

Djamel Benlamri

Baghdad Bounedjah

Ahmed Refaat

Abdelilah Hafidi

Mohamed Nahiri

Arshad Al-Alawi

Khalid Al-Hajri

Akram Afif

Abdulaziz Hatem

Firas Ben Larbi

Youssef Msakni

1 goal

Amir Sayoud

Hillal Soudani

Mohamed Amine Tougai

Marwan Dawoud

Amr El Solia

Hussein Faisal

Mahmoud "El Wensh" Hamdy

Marwan Hamdy

Mohamed "Afsha" Magdy

Ahmed "Zizo" Sayed

Mohamed Sherif

Hasan Abdulkareem

Baha' Abdel-Rahman

Hamza Al-Dardour

Mahmoud Al-Mardi

Abdullah Al-Hamdan

Bessam

Mouhamed Soueid

Hemeya Tanjy

Karim El Berkaoui

Mohamed Chibi

Yahya Jabrane

Soufiane Rahimi

Rabia Al-Alawi

Salaah Al-Yahyaei

Mohammed Rashid

Tamer Seyam

Hassan Al-Haydos

Boualem Khoukhi