Saudi Arabia’s esports World Cup and CAF Champions League semis - Middle East round-Up

The U-20 World Cup campaign kicked off in Argentina this weekend, and the Middle Eastern nations are already in action.
Israel started its journey with a tight 2-1 loss to Colombia. Dor Turgeman put Israel ahead with a penalty in the 57th minute, but the Colombians returned via Oscar Cortes (penalty 74') and Gustavo Puerta, who scored the winner in stoppage time.

Reports in La Plata have said that around five thousand Jewish Argentineans and travelling Israelis turned up to support the young Israel side.

It’s been 53 years since Israel participated in a football World Cup, and now they are just two games away from changing their fortune.

Colombia and Italy are sitting 🔝#U20WC
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) May 21, 2023

On Monday evening, in Group E Tunisia faced England and lost 1-0, while Iraq started its tournament with a game against Uruguay.

The young Lions of Mesopotamia were hammered 4-0 by the Uruguayans, showing that it would be a difficult group for the region’s teams.

The Middle East and North Africa representatives will try to find a spot among the eight best third place teams, and qualify for the knockout stage in Argentina.

Ali Jasim after the match:

"Congrats to Uruguay. Hard-luck to us. There were mistakes from us. We hope to compensate against Tunisia."

"These tournaments are difficult. We hope to get 3 points in the next match to advance to please the fans. Of course this was a bad match.". pic.twitter.com/vskMz3Bf1q
— Iraq Football Podcast (@IraqFootballPod) May 22, 2023

Gaming in the Middle East, a path to peace?

A World Cup is heading to Saudi Arabia - it’s not the real deal, but in eFootball.

Sources in FIFA and the Israeli Football Association tell BabaGol that Saudi Arabia will host the FIFAe Nations World Cup finals in July.

The world championship takes place in the EA Sports game, FIFA.

Players from 24 countries compete under the umbrella of their football associations in a 2 v 2 format, with each game lasting 12 minutes.

The Israeli national team qualified after a series of games this weekend - wins against Poland and Portugal guaranteed their spot.

In the European version of the tournament this weekend, the Israelis beat France in the semis, and beat Spain in the final to claim the eNations Cup European championship title.

Nassim Eissat, Yuval Beli and Roee Feldman, the footballers from the Israeli team, are among the world’s leading FIFA gamers.

Interestingly, the team chosen to replace Saudi Arabia in the eNations Cup Asian championship is the Palestinian national team, which also has the chance to qualify.

An Israel v Palestine eSports encounter in Saudi Arabia is loading, and could develop into an exciting story - much more than a ‘computer game’.

גם אתמול: נבחרת ישראל 🇮🇱 ב eFootball רשמה הישג ענק כשזכתה באליפות אירופה אחרי נצחונות על צרפת בחצי הגמר וספרד בגמר.

הכירו את:@roeefeldman @NEissaT14 @YuvalBeli

מהטובים בעולם במשחק, שייצגו את ישראל באליפות העולם #FeNC בסעודיה 🇸🇦 ביולי. עוד עליהם פה:
pic.twitter.com/TRTOyEuNWA
— Uri Levy (@Levyninho) May 22, 2023

Wydad Casablanca and Al Ahly Cairo big winners in African Champions League semis

The CAF Champions League is arriving at its decisive moments.

Over the weekend, Egyptian giants Al Ahli beat Taraji Esperance Tunis 1-0 with a goal from Hussein El Shahat, closing the tie at 4-0 on aggregate.

Meanwhile Wydad Casablanca drew 2-2 with Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria - an 83rd minute own goal by Mothobi Mvala sent the Moroccans to the final for the second year in a row.

Al Ahly and Wydad will meet for a second consecutive CAF Champions League final, with the first leg taking place on 4 June in Cairo, and the second leg a week later at the packed and boiling Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca.

Edited by Alex Smith