The Syrian national football team booked its place at the Arab Cup finals in Qatar after defeating South Sudan 2-0 in a play-off held at Grand Hamad Stadium on Tuesday, 25 November.

Despite the win, Syria appeared far below expectations according to Enab Baladi’s follow-up of the match, playing without a natural centre forward and looking unfocused despite dominating possession.

South Sudan threatened goalkeeper Elias Hadaya’s goal with a chance that defender Ahmad Faqa cleared off the line, and the first half ended goalless.

In the second half, the Syrian side finally showed its strength and entered with a much sharper mentality, determined to settle the match.

From a well-worked attacking move, Mohammad al-Hallak scored Syria’s first goal in the 52nd minute.

In the 59th minute, captain Mahmoud al-Mawas doubled the lead for Syria.

The Syrian national football team, the “Qasioun Eagles”, missed several clear chances that could have widened the scoreline, but the 2-0 result was enough to send Syria through to the Arab Cup finals in Qatar, scheduled to kick off on 1 December.

Syria’s group at the Arab Cup

• Qatar (host nation)
• Tunisia (runners-up in the previous edition)
• Syria
• Palestine

Syria’s record at the Arab Cup

The Arab Cup features a number of strong national teams, even though some of them rely on rotated or second-string squads.

The draw had placed the Syrian national team in a difficult group alongside hosts Qatar and Tunisia, in addition to the winner of the Palestine vs Libya tie and the winner of the Syria vs South Sudan play-off.

Syria has previously taken part in the Arab Cup seven times, finishing as runners-up in three editions.

Across all of its Arab Cup appearances, Syria has played 28 matches, winning 11, losing 11 and drawing six, scoring 38 goals and conceding 32.

Syria’s most recent appearance at the Arab Cup was in the previous edition hosted by Qatar, where the “Qasioun Eagles” were drawn in a group with the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and Mauritania.