South Sudan and Somalia eye group stage in FIFA Arab Cup 2025 qualifiers
The finals will consist of four groups of four teams, with each group playing a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage.
South Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan are preparing for the first qualifying round of the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar, with the winners advancing directly to the group stage.
South Sudan will face Syria on November 25, while Somalia, fresh off a morale-boosting victory over Bahrain in an international friendly, will take on Oman the following day, November 26. Djibouti will play Bahrain on Wednesday, and Sudan will face Lebanon on the same day.
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Other qualifying matches include Libya against Palestine on Tuesday and Yemen against Comoros on Wednesday. Kuwait will also play Mauritania on Tuesday.
The 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, scheduled from December 1–18, will be the 11th edition of the tournament and the second under FIFA's governance.
“This will be the second time Qatar hosts the tournament, after organising the 2021 edition,” FIFA said in a recent statement.
The finals will feature 16 men's national teams from across the Arab world, drawn from both the CAF (Africa) and AFC (Asia) confederations.
Nine of the highest-ranked Arab nations in the FIFA World Rankings have already qualified directly for the group stage. These teams include Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Iraq.
Hosts Qatar, along with defending champions Algeria, will headline the competition, which culminates at Lusail Stadium, where the final is set for December 18.
The remaining 14 teams will battle it out in the qualifying round from November 25–26 to complete the lineup.
Teams already know which group they will join if they qualify, as winners of each play-off match have predetermined spots.
The finals will consist of four groups of four teams, with each group playing a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage.
“The final stage of the tournament will be played across six stadiums that also hosted matches during the historic FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. All venues are easily accessible by public transport and are fully accessible for fans with disabilities,” said FIFA.
"Visa is the preferred payment method for ticket purchases for the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025. Cash payments will not be accepted.”
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