By Fahad Shafaqa

KUWAIT, Dec 2 (KUNA) -- A number of Kuwait's sports coaches and experts said that the Arab teams have made a brilliant and honorable performance during their matches at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 that led to Morocco's qualification for the 16th round.
Speaking to KUNA in separate remarks Friday, the coaches added that Saudi Arabia and Tunisia could have the ability to cruise into the next round, if they maintained their levels until the last whistle of the referee.
They added that holding the championship in an Arab country contributed to this brilliant performance, thanks to audience's support to the Arab teams.
Malek Al-Qallaf, Sulaibikhat's coach, said that Morocco made an amazing performance in the first round and could top their group, amid the strongest teams namely Croatia and Belgium.
He noted that professional Moroccan players who have been playing for the European tournaments over years contributed to this high level. Al-Qallaf indicated that the Saudi national team played good matches and its players were organized in their matches against the teams that depend on skill and high pressure.
The Saudi players succeeded in dealing with those teams, but its undeserved loss against Poland affected its chances of qualifying, he said, considering that Arab teams' goals are a bright spot in the World Cup.
For his part, Zaher Al-Adwani, Al-Nasr Club's technical director for youth sector, emphasized that the four Arab teams presented themselves in a distinctive way that "exceeded expectations", despite their presence amongst strong groups.
He indicated that the tournament proved that the technical differences began to decline between the Arab teams on one hand and their counterparts in Europe and South America on the other, thanks to Arab professionals in some strong European clubs.
Al-Adwani elaborated that the wonderful organization and high spirit in which the Moroccan national team appeared are the key of its qualification for the next round.
He went to say that Saudi Arabia presented a distinguished level in its first two matches, achieving a resounding victory in the first match over Argentina and losing the second against Poland with difficulty.
However Saudi players' injuries, fatigue and the disparity in the level of their substitutes affected the team a lot during Mexico match, thus they lost the chance to qualify, he noted.
Moreover, Abdulaziz Hamada, a national coach, said professional Moroccan players like Hakim Ziyach and Yassine Bounou as well as others are the key of their leading of the group.
Hamada indicated that the instability of the Saudi national team's line-up due to external circumstances was the most important reason for its decline and loss of the opportunity to qualify.
Tunisia failed to cruise into the next round as it won only one point from the first two matches against Denmark and Australia, he noted. (end) fs.hm