分类： sports

It has been nearly three years since that iconic sunny winter afternoon at Qatar 2022’s Lusail Stadium, when Saudi Arabia pulled off what remains one of the most shocking upsets in men’s FIFA World Cup history. Trailing Argentina by a single goal at the halftime break, the Green Falcons roared back with two quick second-half strikes to secure a 2-1 win over the side that would eventually lift the tournament trophy. For Saudi football, that result erased the painful memories of past World Cup humiliations: the 8-0 rout by Germany in 2002 and the 5-0 opening-match defeat to Russia in 2018 were no longer the first story the world associated with the kingdom’s national side. Instead, global attention turned to Saudi Arabia’s passionate fanbase and its rapidly evolving football culture.

Buoyed by the global hype generated by the Argentina upset, the Saudi Pro League (SPL) moved quickly to capitalize on its newfound momentum. Within months, top-flight club Al-Nassr secured the high-profile signature of Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo. Six months after the World Cup, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), acquired controlling stakes in the kingdom’s four biggest clubs and began bankrolling the signings of dozens of global football superstars.

Three years on from that massive cash injection, the transformation of Saudi domestic football is impossible to ignore. SPL sides now consistently dominate Asian club competition, and the starting lineups of the kingdom’s top clubs feature some of the biggest household names in the global game. The gap between the SPL and established top European leagues was highlighted last year when Riyadh powerhouse Al-Hilal pulled off a stunning 4-3 upset over European champions Manchester City in the Club World Cup round of 16.

Yet for all the glitz, success and global attention the SPL has earned, one gaping hole remains: the massive investment has yet to translate to any tangible improvement in the performance of Saudi Arabia’s national men’s team.

Many long-time observers and fans remain optimistic that change is on the horizon, especially with the 2034 FIFA World Cup set to be hosted on Saudi soil. “It is great that we have some of the best players and coaches now in Saudi Arabia. It has only been a couple of years [since PIF invested], but maybe we will see a jump by the time we host the World Cup,” Nasser Khalfan, an Al-Hilal supporter who plans to attend the club’s pre-season tour matches in the U.S. this summer, told Middle East Eye.

In many ways, the legendary 2022 win over Argentina covered over deep structural flaws in Saudi football. When the Saudi football authorities increased the foreign player quota from five to eight then 10 per starting lineup, requiring just three domestic Saudi players on the pitch at any time, the crisis for the national side only deepened. The stark disconnect between big-spending domestic club investment and stagnant national team performance has drawn widespread comparisons to China’s failed top-flight experiment a decade earlier.

Back in 2017, the Chinese Super League (CSL) outspent the English Premier League in the transfer market, with total expenditure crossing €1 billion. The big-money project ultimately failed to lift the quality of China’s national team, and authorities abandoned the approach in favor of financial sustainability, introducing a 600 million yuan (€76 million) annual cap on total club football spending and strict salary limits for both domestic and foreign players.

To avoid falling into the same unsustainable debt trap, PIF has actively sought outside investment to reduce the kingdom’s financial exposure. Already, a 70% stake in Al-Hilal has been sold to prominent Saudi investor Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, and a number of smaller top-flight clubs including Al-Riyadh, Abha, Al-Fateh, Al-Tai and Al-Shoulla have been listed for sale to private investors. The move comes after Saudi football required a $333 million government bailout in 2018, and policymakers have made clear they have little appetite for repeating that exercise.

Despite the structural concerns, most Saudi fans remain enthusiastic about the transformation of their domestic game. Khalfan argues that even with the slow progress on the national side, the investment has already changed football for the better in the kingdom. “Yes, the government spent a lot of money, but I think it is changing sport in Saudi Arabia for the better. I remember before the 2018 World Cup we sent players to Spain [on loan] and they did not play for their clubs. Now Saudi players have some of the best players in the world as their teammates,” he explained.

Tangible results for the national team have yet to materialize, and the Green Falcons’ recent competitive record remains underwhelming. Just days after the historic 2022 win over Argentina, Saudi Arabia lost consecutive group-stage matches to Poland and Mexico, crashing out of the tournament in the opening round. The team has also struggled in continental Asian competition.

For long-time Saudi football fans, top-tier success is not an unrealistic dream: the kingdom made its Asian Cup debut in 1984 and won the tournament in its first appearance, before going on to reach five more finals and claim two additional titles between 1988 and 2007. That run of success captured the imagination of football fans across the Arab world, so much so that when the iconic Japanese football anime *Captain Tsubasa* was dubbed into Arabic, it was renamed *Captain Majed* in honor of legendary Saudi striker Majed Abdullah. But today, these historic triumphs are largely lore for most Saudis: the kingdom’s median age sits just under 24, meaning the majority of the population was not alive the last time the national side won a knockout-stage match at the Asian Cup, two decades ago.

The road to 2026 World Cup qualification has been fraught with turmoil. In a high-profile hire, the Saudi Football Federation poached manager Roberto Mancini from the Italian national team in August 2023, luring the coach who led Italy to a surprise 2020 European Championship title with a four-year contract worth $100 million. Mancini’s remit was simple: replicate his Italian magic with the Green Falcons and turn them into a global contender. But the Italian manager lasted just 14 months in the role, leaving the side stuck in mid-table of World Cup qualifying with just five points from four matches. In his final press conference, he publicly blamed star player Salem al-Dawsari for missed penalties in disappointing draws against Indonesia and Bahrain.

Facing the very real prospect of missing out on 2026 World Cup qualification, the federation turned to a familiar face, reappointing former manager Herve Renard. Renard steadied the ship just enough to secure qualification, but was dismissed shortly after a lopsided 4-0 defeat to Egypt in March 2025. His replacement, Giorgios Donis, was hired specifically for his experience coaching in the SPL, but has been given less than six weeks to prepare the side for its 2026 World Cup opener.

This year marks Saudi Arabia’s seventh appearance at the FIFA World Cup, where it has been drawn into a tough group with European powerhouse Spain, South American giant Uruguay and African contender Cape Verde. The national side’s most pressing flaws are visible at both ends of the pitch: despite billions in investment, the Green Falcons have struggled to find goals, managing just 10 strikes in their last 12 World Cup qualifying matches.

“I would be more concerned if they weren’t creating chances,” Paul Williams, founder of Asian football outlet *The Asian Game*, told Middle East Eye. “The issue comes down to finishing … and you can’t fix finishing in a week. That’s going to be an issue.” At the other end of the pitch, none of the three goalkeepers called up to the 2026 World Cup squad is a regular starter for their SPL club, raising serious questions about the side’s ability to withstand the high-powered attacks of Spain and Uruguay.

Williams remains cautiously pessimistic about the team’s 2026 chances: “I’m not downbeat on their chances. I’m not bullish on their chances, either. They have the talent. Let’s see if they can deliver.”

With the 2027 Asian Cup set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia in just six months’ time, and the 2034 World Cup just nine years away, Saudi fans are hoping a strong run at this year’s World Cup can kickstart a new era of regional and global football dominance for the Green Falcons.

For decades, Iran’s journey in the FIFA World Cup has been inextricably intertwined with the nation’s political and social upheavals. But the 2026 tournament, hosted in part by the United States, has brought the country’s national team, Team Melli, into an uncharted maelstrom of competing pressures that no other side in the competition’s history has had to navigate.

Team Melli’s opening match against New Zealand in Los Angeles falls just one day after former U.S. President Donald Trump announced a landmark tentative deal with Iran’s government, a development that could bring a close to three and a half months of open conflict. The location of the match alone adds layers of tension: Los Angeles is widely nicknamed “Tehrangeles,” home to one of the largest Iranian diaspora communities in the world, the majority of which hold staunch anti-regime views. Back in Iran, public support for the national team is deeply divided, with many Iranians viewing the side as a symbol of the ruling government rather than a unifying national representative. This rift has deepened dramatically after the government’s reported crackdown on mass anti-government protests earlier this year that left thousands of demonstrators dead.

“There is a long history of politics mixing with football in Iran,” explained Jahanyar Mohebbi, a former head coach of Iran Pro League side Foolad FC. “The players feel the pressure from all sides – the politicians, the fans in the U.S. and at home.” This pattern of political entanglement stretches back to Iran’s very first World Cup appearance in 1978. As the squad traveled to Argentina for the tournament, revolution was already sweeping across the country, and the Shah’s government tried to insulate the team from growing domestic unrest. Iran’s star player Parviz Ghleechkhani, who passed away just last month, was barred from the tournament after the Shah’s secret police detained and questioned him over his outspoken political views. Even the team’s legendary goalkeeper Nasser Hejazi, who turned heads with his standout performances in Argentina, missed out on a historic transfer to English powerhouse Manchester United after the revolution disrupted all transfer negotiations.

After the 1979 revolution established the Islamic Republic, the new government under Ayatollah Ali Khomeini remained wary of football, recognizing the sport’s unmatched ability to mobilize mass passion and public discontent. That wariness was validated in 1997, when Iran defeated Australia in a playoff in Melbourne to qualify for the 1998 World Cup. Widespread spontaneous celebrations across Iran grew so large that the team was ordered to delay their return home to let public tensions subside. That qualification set the stage for one of the most politically charged matches in World Cup history: Iran’s group stage clash with the United States in Lyon. Ahead of the game, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton released a public message of goodwill, and Iranian players presented flowers to their American opponents before securing a 2-1 victory. “Every day somebody from the government, from sports officials, they were asking about the game and demanding a win,” recalled Jalal Talebi, Iran’s head coach at the 1998 tournament. “What I tried to tell the players was, ‘Forget what they said – it’s all politics.’ I knew exactly how much pressure they were carrying.”

In the decades that followed, political undertones remained a constant in Iran’s World Cup campaigns. The 2006 tournament brought less international tension, but controversy emerged from within the squad, with reported deep divisions between supporters of star players Ali Daei and Ali Karimi. Karimi later made headlines during 2010 World Cup qualifiers when he and several other players wore green armbands, a gesture widely interpreted as a show of support for opposition protesters contesting the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Most recently, at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, protest took center stage again: following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in morality police custody for allegedly violating hijab laws, the entire Iranian squad refused to sing the national anthem before their opening match against England, a silent rebuke of the government that drew global attention.

Beyond the political and social pressures, longstanding international isolation has systematically held Iranian football back. On a practical level, the Iranian Football Federation frequently struggles to access prize money and funding from international governing bodies held in overseas accounts. There has been chronic underinvestment in training facilities and international training camps for the national team, the domestic league has fallen behind other top leagues in the Middle East, and leading international nations routinely refuse to schedule friendly matches against Iran. While Japan, the first team to qualify for 2026, has prepared for the tournament with high-profile tune-up matches against Brazil, England, the U.S. and Mexico, Iran has only been able to arrange warm-up games against Russia, Tanzania, Costarica, Nigeria and Gambia.

Yet for all these systemic obstacles, Iran has consistently qualified for World Cup tournaments and remains the second-highest ranked men’s national team in Asia, trailing only Japan. The 2026 campaign, however, represents the most daunting challenge the side has ever faced. Until just days before the tournament, there was open uncertainty over whether the entire Iranian squad would even be granted entry to the United States, forcing the team to relocate its pre-tournament training camp from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, on the U.S. border.

Mohebbi noted that the chaotic preparation has brought one unexpected upside: “Usually national teams arrive at the tournament exhausted after a long domestic season, but Iran have had a long break and have been training almost like a club side.” That advantage is outweighed by significant drawbacks, though: the Iranian domestic league was canceled back in February, leaving players without competitive match action for months, and constant logistical uncertainty has created pervasive anxiety. “The most challenging thing is the logistics,” Mohebbi added. “Will they even be allowed to train at the stadium a day in advance, or will they just show up for the match? That uncertainty makes everything much harder.”

Team captain Mehdi Taremi, who is competing at his third World Cup, echoed those frustrations after several members of the Iranian delegation were denied U.S. visas. “I’ve been to three World Cups, and they always say once you get off the plane and enter the host country, there’s just a unique atmosphere of friendliness and global connection,” Taremi told ESPN. “Unfortunately, I’m not feeling it right now. There’s a lot of tension right now in this World Cup, you can feel it in the atmosphere, and it’s because of actions like these visa denials.” Still, Taremi emphasized that the squad remains united, regardless of differing views on the Iranian government. “Obviously some people outside Iran, many here, are against the government, but we are all Iranian,” he said. “We are united and we are looking for peace. I think they will come there to support us, and we have to bring them joy.”

For the players, anxiety extends far beyond logistics and visa issues, as they remain constantly concerned about loved ones back in Iran amid ongoing unrest. “It’s been very difficult, I’ll be honest with you, for every single one of us with the whole situation back home,” said winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh. “You have to keep checking on your family, on your loved ones, on your people back home, and of course it’s affecting the whole group.” As the team takes the pitch in Los Angeles, all eyes will be on how the 11 players caught in the middle of global political conflict will perform under the weight of unprecedented pressure.

In a thrilling conclusion to their three-match Twenty20 International series in Kingston, Jamaica, the West Indies pulled off a last-over five-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Sunday, clinching the series 2-1 with just two deliveries remaining. The dramatic run chase, capped by batter Sherfane Rutherford’s unbeaten half-century, capped a seesaw contest that kept spectators on the edge of their seats from the first over to the last.

After winning the pre-match toss, West Indies captain made the tactical call to send Sri Lanka into bat first, a decision vindicated by seamer Shamar Joseph’s career-best player-of-the-match performance. The fast bowler picked up five wickets for just 33 runs, including two strikes in the sixth over and three more in the final over of Sri Lanka’s batting innings, narrowly missing out on a hat-trick twice.

Sri Lanka got off to a fast start, reaching 49 for one after just five overs, but the momentum shifted abruptly when Joseph claimed wickets on back-to-back deliveries. First, opener Pathum Nissanka (26 off 17) top-edged a pull to Roston Chase after sharing a 43-run second-wicket stand, before Pavan Rathnayake was trapped lbw on the very next ball. The host’s fielding also delivered early: Matthew Forde pulled off a spectacular one-handed catch off his own bowling to remove dangerous batter Kusal Mendis for just five in the ninth over of the match.

A late lower-order rally led by Dunith Wellalage dragged Sri Lanka to a competitive total of 169 all out. Wellalage anchored the recovery with a 28-ball 43, and shared a 49-run seventh-wicket partnership with Wanindu Hasaranga, but the stand was broken when Hasaranga was run out in the 19th over. Wellalage became the first of three Sri Lankan wickets to fall in the 20th over, closing out the visitors’ innings and setting the West Indies a target of 170 runs for victory.

The West Indies chase got off to a shaky start, losing opener Shai Hope to Dunith Wellalage on just the third delivery of the innings. The hosts recovered quickly to reach 52 for one, before a collapse that saw three wickets fall for just one run in a 12-ball period handed the momentum back to Sri Lanka. Rutherford, who would eventually become the innings hero, combined with captain Rovman Powell to rebuild the chase, putting on an 81-run fifth-wicket partnership that got the West Indies back on track for victory.

The contest turned chaotic in the 17th over, bowled by Sri Lankan paceman Dushmantha Chameera. The over stretched to nine deliveries after a no-ball and two wides, yielded 24 runs for the West Indies, and ended with Powell being dismissed for 33 off the final ball. After the over, the West Indies still needed 36 runs from the final three overs, with the equation narrowing to 29 runs from 12 balls by the start of the 19th over.

All-rounder Jason Holder turned the game irreversibly in the West Indies’ favor in the penultimate over, smashing three sixes off Chameera in just four deliveries. The blitz cut the required runs down to just six for victory heading into the final over, with Rutherford still at the crease. Rutherford, who had benefited from two costly dropped catches by Sri Lankan fielders earlier in his innings, hit the winning runs to bring up his half-century off 40 balls, finishing unbeaten on 54. Holder ended the innings on 21 not out from just five deliveries, as the West Indies reached 170 for five to seal the series.

The series win for the West Indies comes after the first two matches were split: the hosts won the opening fixture by seven wickets, before Sri Lanka claimed a 37-run victory in the second match on Saturday to leave the series tied heading into the decider. Prior to the T20I series, Sri Lanka claimed the preceding three-match ODI series 1-0, after the final two matches were washed out by rain following a 41-run win in the opening fixture. The two sides will next face off in a two-match Test series, scheduled to get underway on June 25 in Antigua.

An international incident sparked widespread public outrage after a Mexican man made a widely recognized anti-Asian racist gesture during a World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic, held in Guadalajara, Mexico last Thursday. The perpetrator, Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes, who served as president of the College of Geomatics and Topographic Surveying Engineers of Jalisco (CITGEJ), has since issued a public apology and been removed from his leadership position over the offensive act. The incident was captured by popular South Korean content creator Yoon Su-jin, better known online by her alias Ino Cat, who boasts 6.6 million YouTube subscribers and more than 2 million TikTok followers. Yoon posted the clip to her Instagram, documenting the moment Bernal, seated directly behind her in the stadium stands, pulled the corners of his eyes into a slanted shape — a gesture long understood as a demeaning, racist mockery of East Asian people — before laughing at the action. In her caption accompanying the viral video, Yoon wrote: “You traveled across the world for the World Cup… and experienced racism…” The clip quickly spread across major social media platforms, amassing more than 65,000 comments and at least 120,000 shares or reposts within days. The overwhelming majority of reactions condemned Bernal’s behavior, with many commenters expressing disgust at the casual, unapologetic racism on display. One widely liked comment read: “Ugh so terrible. And then he laughs like he cracked the best joke.” Notably, dozens of commenters identifying themselves as Mexican also issued collective apologies on behalf of their compatriot, stressing that Bernal’s offensive actions do not represent the views or behavior of the broader Mexican population. In the wake of the viral backlash, leadership of CITGEJ confirmed to the New York Post that Bernal had been removed from his post as organization president. Two days after the incident, on Sunday, Bernal released a formal public apology addressing the widespread circulation of the clip and the heated public reaction it sparked. “For that reason, I believe it is important to offer a public apology,” he wrote in the statement. “I sincerely regret everything this situation has caused. I have taken time to reflect on what happened and I understand the responsibility I have in this moment.” Bernal declined to attempt to justify his action or debate varying interpretations of the gesture, adding: “Throughout my personal and professional life, I have always tried to treat others with respect, and I will continue working to ensure that my actions consistently reflect those values.” The match itself ended with South Korea staging a second-half comeback to secure a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic.