{"id":2405,"date":"2026-06-28T20:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T20:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=2405"},"modified":"2026-06-28T20:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T20:36:13","slug":"money-cant-buy-world-cup-success-for-gulf-nations-like-saudi-arabia-and-qatar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=2405","title":{"rendered":"Money can’t buy World Cup success for gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar that poured a fortune into soccer and infrastructure experienced unceremonious exits from the\u00a0World Cup, proving that big money doesn\u2019t guarantee success on the sport’s biggest stage.<\/p>\n

Read more Lindsey Vonn has a special understanding of Serena Williams\u2019 Wimbledon comeback<\/a><\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia is out at the earliest point. Again. Bottom of a group that included\u00a0tiny Cape Verde, the third-smallest nation ever to compete on this stage and into the knockouts for the first time.<\/p>\n

By signing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema as part of a\u00a0spectacular recruitment drive\u00a0in recent years, Saudi Arabia has been a major disruptor of club soccer. But on the international stage it still has a long way to go eight years out from hosting the World Cup in 2034.<\/p>\n

Qatar, the host four years ago, is also on its way home after just three games, so too are the other gulf nations\u00a0Iran\u00a0and Iraq. Compared to the success of African teams at this World Cup, with nine out of 10 advancing to the round of 32, gulf nations are struggling mightily to make their mark.<\/p>\n

A goalless draw against Cape Verde ended Saudi Arabia’s hopes of advancing from the group phase for the first time since 1994.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not what we wanted because when playing in such a match against a team that is more or less the same level as us, our performance was not good. So this gives rise to concern,\u201d Saudi coach Georgios Donis said.<\/p>\n

Qatar made history with its first point at a World Cup, scoring a dramatic late equalizer against Switzerland. But it was another disappointingly early exit after it was\u00a0eliminated just two games into its home tournament\u00a0in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that they show that at least we were able to compete in these kind of matches,\u201d coach Julen Lopetegui said.<\/p>\n

The appointment of Lopetegui \u2014 the former Spain and Real Madrid coach \u2014 is evidence of the type of investment Qatar has made to try to boost its performance on the global stage. Unlike Saudi Arabia, it has not embarked on such an audacious drive to attract aging stars from Europe to its domestic league.<\/p>\n

Despite a population of 3 million people and only around 300,000 citizens, it has managed to develop enough homegrown players to\u00a0win back-to-back Asian Cups\u00a0in recent years and assert its dominance on a region that includes powers like Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n

But it has not been able to translate those performances to the World Cup, and such an early exit marks a disappointment less than four years after hosting the tournament and spending billions of dollars to create eight state-of-the-art stadiums.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou compare with other countries … for sure we know who we are,\u201d said Lopetegui. “But at the same time I think that this is one little country but with a big passion, a big investment … we have to improve every day and they did this.<\/p>\n

Read more 16 arrested during Portugal vs. Colombia FIFA match at Hard Rock Stadium, deputies say<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe look to the future being optimistic about this for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

It’s all about the future for Saudi Arabia, too, after winning the right to host the World Cup in 2034.<\/p>\n

It has been on a mission to wield influence in sports around the world, from buying Premier League Newcastle to launching LIV Golf and hosting world title boxing matches and Formula 1.<\/p>\n

The World Cup would be its standout achievement as it looks to\u00a0move away from its heavy reliance on oil\u00a0and explore other revenue-generating sectors.<\/p>\n

It will want its national team to make a statement at its home tournament and while superstar signings like Ronaldo have raised the profile of its league, the hope is that they will also raise standards.<\/p>\n

Yet after pulling off one of the\u00a0biggest upsets in World Cup history\u00a0by beating eventual champion Argentina four years ago, there was no standout moment this time \u2014 failing to advance beyond the group phase for the sixth time in a row.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have these stars in the Arabian League, I think that the more competitive the competition, the better our players will be,\u201d said Donis. \u201cBut it\u2019s different when we\u2019re playing for the national team because in the national team, these experiences, there needs to be a certain mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Focus on development of homegrown talent is clear as 2034 approaches.<\/p>\n

Star signings from overseas have slowed and some big names, including Neymar, have departed. U.S. Soccer\u2019s sporting director Matt Crocker was\u00a0lured away\u00a0to head up talent development in Saudi Arabia and youth investment is said to have doubled over the past three years.<\/p>\n

If Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been disruptors with their sudden mega spending, Iran has been competing in World Cups since 1978.<\/p>\n

It had to contend with difficulties regarding preparation and travel in the wake of war with the United States and only narrowly missed out on advancing as a best third place team after three draws. In seven appearances at the World Cup it has never gone beyond the groups.<\/p>\n

Likewise for Iraq in its two appearances 40 years apart.<\/p>\n

At a time when a supersized 48-team World Cup has opportunities for the likes of Cape Verde and Congo to make history, gulf nations are still waiting for their moment.<\/p>\n

Read more Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa\u2019s emotional World Cup farewell leaves lasting legacy for Mexico fans<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSouth Korea’s early World Cup exit has sparked a government investigation, with President Lee Jae Myung questioning the national team’s performance and head coach Hong Myung-bo announcing his resignation.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar poured a fortune into soccer and infrastructure but experienced unceremonious exits from the\u00a0World Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\nMoney can't buy World Cup success for gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar - Jacksonville Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=2405\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Money can't buy World Cup success for gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar - 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