اخبار سوريا اليوم – وطن نيوز
سوريا اليوم – اخبار سوريا عاجل
W6nnews.com ==== وطن === تاريخ النشر – 2026-06-05 14:00:00
The 2026 FIFA World Cup comes to constitute a turning point in the development of Arab football, not only in terms of the unprecedented numerical attendance, but also in terms of the diversity of training schools between local coaches who have created long-term projects with their national teams, and foreigners who have extensive European and international experience. With the participation of eight Arab teams, the Arabs enter the next edition with ambitions that go beyond mere appearance, leading to an attempt to repeat or come close to Morocco’s historic achievement in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Four Arab coaches stand out in this scene with different experiences and different paths, all of which lead to one goal, which is to break the historical barrier of Arab football in the World Cup. Mohamed Wehbe Moroccan coach Mohamed Wehbe (49 years old) took over the leadership of the Moroccan national team on March 6, 2026, succeeding Walid Regragui, who ended his mission with the “Atlas Lions” after a period that extended between 2022 and 2026, during which he carried the national team to one of its most prominent historical stations by reaching the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as the first African team to reach this round. Wehbe’s appointment came in the context of a new project for the Moroccan Football Federation, based on building on the legacy left by Regragui, who also led the national team to achieve remarkable achievements at the continental and international levels, before the technical management moved towards a coach with a clear European background and a different vision in developing players. Wehbe was born in Belgium. He was not a professional player, but he believed that scientific and tactical training was able to compensate for field experience, so he chose an early training path that he began in 1997 with Maccabi Brussels youth team at the age of twenty-two, before moving in 2004 to Anderlecht Academy, one of the most prominent talent training schools in Europe. Wehbe rose within the Belgian club from the youth groups to the technical staff of the first team as an assistant coach, which gave him extensive experience in developing players and creating talent according to European standards. In 2022, he took over the leadership of the Moroccan youth national team, before leading it to a historic achievement by winning the U-20 World Cup in 2025, after defeating Argentina in the final with a score of 2-0, which constituted the most prominent turning point in his coaching career. This success prompted the Moroccan Federation to grant him the confidence of leading the first team in the 2026 World Cup, in a project that bets on a young generation supported by European experience and a modern tactical vision, with the aim of continuing the strong Moroccan presence in global forums. The Moroccan national team is competing in strong competition in the third group, where it will face Brazil, Scotland and Haiti in a difficult and balanced group. Hossam Hassan Hossam Hassan stands out as one of the most experienced Arab coaches in the 2026 World Cup, not only for his long coaching career, but also for his history as a player who participated in the 1990 World Cup with the Egyptian national team, later becoming the first to lead his country to the World Cup as a player and then as a coach. Hossam Hassan began his coaching career in March 2008 with Al-Masry of Port Said after the end of his career as a player with Al-Ittihad of Alexandria, before moving between a number of Egyptian clubs, including Telecom Egypt, Zamalek, Ismaily, and Al-Masry, without achieving long-term stability at any point in those experiences. In 2013, he had an important training experience with the Jordanian national team, where he led them to the decisive round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, before losing in the playoff to Uruguay, in one of his most prominent training stops outside Egypt. He later returned to coaching Egyptian clubs, before taking over the leadership of the Egyptian national team in February 2024, succeeding Portuguese Rui Vitoria, following the “Pharaohs” exit in the round of 16 in the African Cup of Nations, beginning a new phase that brought the national team back to the continental and international forefront. Hossam Hassan was able to lead Egypt to the 2026 World Cup after a long absence, relying on his extensive experience that extends over more than two decades in training, and on a strict personality inside the locker room, which made him one of the most present and influential Arab coaches of the current generation. The Egyptian national team is in Group Seven, alongside Iran, Belgium and New Zealand. Sabri Lamouchi The French coach of Tunisian origins, Sabri Lamouchi, has a rich football and coaching career that combines European experience and association with African teams, as he had previously been a brilliant midfielder with Monaco and Marseille in France, in addition to Inter Milan and Parma in Italy, before joining the Tunisian national team in 1993, in an experience that was not officially completed, as he did not play in any international matches despite being called up, in an incident that still raises controversy to this day after his participation in the tournament. Warm up without actually engaging him. On the coaching level, Al-Lamouchi began his career with national teams leading the Ivory Coast national team, where he succeeded in leading him to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, before he went through several coaching experiences in Europe, including Rennes of France, Nottingham Forest of England, and Cardiff City of Wales, where he contributed to saving the team from relegation to the first division “Championship” in the 2022-2023 season, which strengthened his reputation as a coach who is good at dealing with pressure and difficult tasks. In his current experience with the Tunisian national team, Lamouchi relies on his extensive European experience, in an attempt to build a team capable of overcoming the complex of early exit from the World Cup, and returning the “Eagles of Carthage” to competition in the advanced stages. The Tunisian national team is competing in Group Six alongside the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden. Jamal Al-Salami Jamal Al-Salami is experiencing one of the most important stages of his coaching career after leading the Jordanian national team to the first qualification in its history to the World Cup. The Moroccan coach, who previously won the African Cup of Nations for local players with Morocco in 2018, in addition to leading Raja to win the Moroccan League, transferred his experience to “Nashama” to create one of the most prominent surprises in the qualifiers. After retiring from football at the age of thirty-three, Jamal Sellami (55 years old) headed to the world of coaching, benefiting from his long experience as a player. He began his coaching career in 2008 with Difaa El Hassani El Jadidi, before moving the following year directly to the coaching staff of the first Moroccan national team as an assistant coach, a step that gave his career an early international dimension and contributed to refining his artistic vision. In the 2010-2011 season, Al-Salami had his first experience as a head coach with Hassania Agadir, before taking over as coach of FUS Rabat in 2011, where he provided one of his most prominent local performances by leading the team to second place in the Moroccan League in the 2011-2012 season, which established his position as one of the emerging coaches in Moroccan football. At the national team level, Al-Salami supervised the junior and youth categories in Morocco, where he led the U-17 national team and then the U-20 national team between 2018 and 2019, before he took over the training of the Moroccan national team for local players, and led it to win the African Cup of Nations title for local players, which was held in Morocco in 2018, in an achievement that strengthened his presence at the national team level. On June 22, 2024, the Jordanian Football Association announced its contract with Al-Salami to lead the first team, succeeding Moroccan Hussein Amouta, at a stage that came after a historic achievement for Jordan, represented by reaching runner-up in the 2023 Asian Cup and qualifying for the decisive round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Al-Salami thus began a new experience at the national team level in a station that is considered one of his most prominent training challenges to date. “Al-Nashama” is competing in the World Cup in the tenth group, which includes alongside him the teams of Argentina, Austria and Algeria. Georgios Donis Greek coach Georgios Donis took over the leadership of the first Saudi national football team at a sensitive stage, after the Saudi Football Federation announced its contract with him on April 23, 2026, to lead the “Green” team until the 2026 World Cup, succeeding French coach Hervé Renard, within the framework of an artistic approach that aims to benefit from his long experience in the Saudi League and a number of European championships. Denis has a diverse coaching career that began on the European continent, where he had experiences with prominent clubs in Greece, most notably AEK Athens and PAOK, before moving to the Gulf region and making a remarkable presence in Saudi football, through his supervision of Al Hilal, Al Wahda and Al Fateh clubs, in addition to his recent experience with Al Khaleej Club, which gave him an accurate knowledge of the characteristics of the Saudi player and the nature of competition in the local league. In terms of achievements, Donis achieved a number of titles during his coaching career, most notably the Cyprus League in the 2013-2014 season, and the Cyprus Cup in the same season, in addition to being crowned with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup with Al Hilal in 2015, and the Crown Prince Cup in the same year, in addition to the 2015 Saudi Super Cup, which reflects his ability to achieve championships in more than one different football environment. The Saudi national team is competing in Group Eight alongside Spain, Uruguay and Cape Verde, in a strong and difficult group. Vladimir Petkovic The Algerian Football Federation announced, on February 28, 2024, the official contract with Croatian-Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic to lead the national team, succeeding coach Djamel Belmadi, in a move considered the beginning of a new artistic phase for the “Desert Warriors,” with ambitions extending until the 2026 World Cup and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Petkovic was born in Sarajevo in 1963, and is considered He is one of the coaches with a multinational background, as he holds Bosnian, Croatian, and Swiss, and is fluent in five languages, which gave him the ability to communicate in different football environments, which was reflected in his long coaching career in Europe. He began his coaching career in 1997 with the Swiss club Bellinzona, before moving between a number of clubs in Switzerland, most notably Lugano, Young Boys and Sion, where he established his name as a coach. In 2012, he had a prominent experience in the Italian League with Lazio, where he led the team to win the Italian Cup in the 2012-2013 season, before he later coached the Swiss national team between 2014 and 2021, which was one of his longest and most successful coaching stations, as he led them to the eighth final of the 2018 World Cup, and the quarter-finals of Euro 2020, in addition to a strong presence in the European Nations League. The Algerian national team is competing in the World Cup in Group Ten, which includes alongside it the national teams of Argentina, Austria and Jordan. Julian Lopetegui The Qatar Football Association announced on May 15, 2025 the appointment of Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui as the new technical director of the first national team, succeeding his compatriot Luis Garcia, with a contract extending until 2027, in a move aimed at restoring technical stability to Al-Anabi and completing the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign. Lopetegui’s appointment came after a period that witnessed fluctuations in the results of the Qatari national team, which prompted the federation to terminate the contract with Luis Garcia. By mutual consent, after a series of unstable results in the qualifiers, most notably the loss to Kyrgyzstan (1-3), which affected the team’s chances of directly qualifying for the World Cup. Lopetegui (58 years old) has a long coaching career that began in Spain with Rayo Vallecano, before he coached the Real Madrid Castilla team, and then led the first Spanish national team between 2016 and 2018, where he achieved a series of positive results before taking over as coach of Real Madrid for a short period in 2018. He also had important European experiences with Porto of Portugal, then continued his career in England with Wolverhampton and West Ham United, which gave him extensive experience in dealing with schools. A different football game, combining possession-based Spanish football with the more physical and fast-paced English football. The Qatari Federation is counting on Lopetegui’s experience to rebuild the national team, especially with Qatari football’s continued reliance on the Spanish school in recent years. The Qatari team is playing strong matches in Group Two against Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada. Graham Arnold Australian coach Graham Arnold took over the leadership of the Iraqi national team, succeeding the Spaniard Jesus Casas, who was dismissed from his position on March 20, 2024 following a loss to Palestine (1-2) in Jordan, in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, in a decision that came after a decline in the results of the “Lions of Mesopotamia” in the third stage of the qualifiers. Arnold (61 years old) has long experience with national teams and clubs, as he coached the Australian national team between 2018 and 2024, and led it to reach the eighth final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, before bidding farewell to the tournament after a difficult and equal loss to Argentina, which later continued its journey towards crowning the world title. Despite this positive path, he submitted his resignation in September 2024, after a faltering start in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, ending a period that lasted six years with the “Kangaroo.” At the club level, Arnold previously had coaching experiences in the Australian League, most notably with the Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC, where he contributed to developing a number of local players and creating competitive teams at the continental level, which earned him a reputation as a coach who relies on tactical discipline and long-term cumulative work. The Iraqi team is placed in the eighth “iron” group, alongside France, Norway and Senegal, in a very strong and difficult group. Related
