The Arab nations’ World Cup journey: A perfect draw for Egypt… a tough one for Morocco and Saudi Arabia… and a disaster for Algeria

The Egyptian national team is considered to have the most favourable draw, as it will only have to travel around 460 kilometres between Seattle in the US and Vancouver in Canada—two cities situated side by side on the border—which will allow the team to maintain their physical and mental stability throughout the group stage.

As for the Iraqi national team, they will play their matches in cities close to one another on the east coast of North America, travelling between Boston, Philadelphia and Toronto, covering a total distance of around 1,200 kilometres – one of the shortest distances compared to the other teams.

The Qatari and Tunisian national teams face a moderate challenge in terms of travel.

The ‘Eagles of Carthage’ will play matches in Monterrey, Mexico, and Kansas, USA, on a journey spanning some 1,700 kilometres.

As for the Qatari team, they will begin their journey in Santa Clara, then head to Vancouver, before concluding in Seattle, covering a total distance of approximately 1,730 kilometres.

Things look even tougher for the national teams of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco, who will have to travel distances ranging from 2,200 to 2,800 kilometres.

The Saudi team will travel between Miami, Atlanta and Houston on a gruelling journey across vast swathes of the country.

Jordan, meanwhile, will start in Santa Clara before flying to Texas to play their final match in Arlington, covering some 2,700 kilometres.

In contrast, the Moroccan team will tour the cities of New Jersey, Boston and Atlanta, on the longest route of the three teams, covering a distance of over 2,800 kilometres.

The Algerian national team faces the toughest challenge, as they will travel nearly 6,000 kilometres during the group stage.

The “Desert Warriors” will begin their campaign in Kansas, then travel to Santa Clara on the far western edge of the US, before returning once more to Kansas for their third match, in what is considered the toughest schedule of all the Arab teams.

Whilst the distances vary between rest and exhaustion, physical preparation and logistical organisation will be a decisive factor in the performance of the Arab teams during this historic edition of the World Cup, which spans three countries and two continents, in an experience unprecedented in the history of world football.

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