AL-RAYYAN, Qatar: Sudan's forward Muhamed Abdel Rahman (left) has his penalty saved by Algeria's goalkeeper Rais M'Bolhi (center back) during the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 group D football match between Algeria and Sudan yesterday. - AFP

DOHA: The Algerian national soccer team defeated the Sudanese counterpart four goals without a response yesterday in the first round of Group D of the Arab Cup FIFA Qatar 2021. In the same group, Egypt played against Lebanon in the first round of competitions later yesterday. Up to 16 teams are participating in the tournament, hosted by Doha until December 18, under the umbrella of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA).

Qatar, UAE win

Meanwhile, Qatari national football squad defeated their Bahraini peers 1-0 on Tuesday, opening day of the 10th FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021. The Group A game, held at Al Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor City, some 46 km to the north of the capital city of Doha, saw Abdulaziz Hatem scoring the sole goal at minute 69. With three points in hand, Qatar will face Iraq on Friday in the second round of the group.

In a Group B game, the UAE team beat Syria's 2-1 at the iconic Stadium 974, one of the country's seven hosting venues of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Caio Canedo Correa scored the opening goal for the UAE at minute 24, followed by his teammate Ali Saleh's at minute 30 and then Ward El-Salamah scored for Syria at minute 60. The UAE team will face Tunisia in the second round of the same group tomorrow. The tournament, which lasts until December 18, gathered the national teams of 16 Arab countries. Oman soccer team and Iraqi counterparts played a 1-1 match on Tuesday, shortly ahead official kickoff of the Arab football cup.

The 10th FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 was inaugurated on Tuesday by Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Al Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor City in the presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Sheikh Tamim welcomed the participating teams, expressing joy for Qatar hosting the Arab tournament 12 months ahead of hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022 for the first time in the Middle East.

On his part, Infantino said, in a welcoming speech in Arabic, "Today Qatar is the house of the Arab world, and tomorrow it will be the house of the world." "Let's be one nation, one family. Let's enjoy football together," FIFA President added. The opening ceremony saw exciting artistic and musical shows featuring the Arab heritage and folklore and audiovisual technologies. The ceremony paid tribute to late Arab actors Abdul-Hussein Abdul-Redha and Saeed Saleh. With a total occupancy of 60,000 seats, Al Bayt Stadium will five games in the Arab tournament, including the final on December 18. - KUNA