Are we entering a golden age of Arab football?

RIYADH: When Morocco claimed the FIFA U-20 World Cup at the weekend, it was a historic landmark for football in the North African country and the wider Arab world.

The young Atlas Lions’ finest hour came courtesy of a 2-0 win over Argentina in Santiago, Chile, in the early hours of Oct. 20, with two-goal hero Yassir Zabrini announcing himself to the world as a star of the future.

Zabrini was not the only hero. The collective triumph could herald the dawn of a new generation of talent for a country who, after the senior team’s glorious march to the semifinals at Qatar 2022, can claim to be leading the way for Arab football on the international stage.

What made the success in Chile even sweeter was that Morocco’s youngsters exacted revenge for their swashbuckling elders.

In the semifinal, the youngsters defeated France — who ended the senior side’s dream at the same stage in Qatar three years ago — and then wrapped up the title against Argentina, the team that the senior class of 2022 would have faced had they reached the final.

There will be caution in some quarters not to overreact. Tunisia in 1978; Algeria in 1982; Kuwait and Iraq in the 1970s; Saudi Arabia in the 1980s and ’90s; and, above all others, Morocco in 2022. All have produced teams that have gone down in football folklore before.

Arabs lauded these golden generations in the past and hung their hopes on them to fearlessly go toe-to-toe with the world’s best, only to be disappointed when they eventually failed to progress at World Cups or sustain a period of excellence. 

But could the region now be witnessing the start of a golden age of Arab football?

Morocco’s latest success came at the end of two weeks that could turn out to be a turning point for