Analysis: Why does North African football outperform the Middle East on the world stage?

DUBAI: Four years ago, Morocco smashed the glass ceiling for Arab teams at the World Cup. A sensational run to the semifinal, where they lost 2-0 to France, goes beyond the wildest dreams of even European and South American nations, never mind those from the region.

Arab teams from North Africa have always been several steps ahead of their Middle Eastern counterparts.

Egypt were the first Arab side to participate in the World Cup, in the tournament’s second edition in Italy all the way back in 1934. Morocco were the first to play in the group stages, at Mexico 1970. Tunisia were first to record a victory — a 3-1 win over Mexico in 1978.

Algeria were the first to record two wins in the group stages at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Morocco were the first to reach the knockouts stages in 1986, and, gloriously, the first to reach the semifinals four years ago in Qatar.

And, this summer, Morocco and Egypt became the first two Arab teams to play in the knockout stages at the same time.

The pride and celebrations across the Arab world has been a joy to behold in recent weeks.

In comparison, success by Arab teams from the Asian Football Federation have been sporadic to non-existent, with almost all high points provided by seven-time qualifiers Saudi Arabia, including a successful debut campaign at USA 94 and a famous win over Argentina in Qatar.

So why do the North Africans succeed where the Middle Easterners fail?

Pragmatically, they have better domestic leagues, player development and a longer history in the game.

It is no surprise that Morocco, by far the most successful of all Arab nations, is also home to the state-of-the-art Mohammed VI Football Academy. Since its inauguration in 2009, its impact on player