1988 Arab Cup
5th Arab Cup, held in Jordan
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The 1988 Arab Cup was the fifth edition of the Arab Cup hosted by Amman, Jordan. The defending champion Iraq won the title for the 4th consecutive time.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Jordan |
| Dates | 8–21 July |
| Teams | 10 (from 2 confederations) |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Iraq (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  Syria |
| Third place |  Egypt |
| Fourth place |  Jordan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 24 |
| Goals scored | 35 (1.46 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Ahmed Radhi (4 goals) |
| Best player | Tawfiq Al-Saheb |
← 1985 1992 → | |
Historical context
The 1988 Arab Cup was held from 8 to 21 July 1988 during the final phase of the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988). A ceasefire was agreed on 20 August 1988, shortly after the tournament concluded.
The competition took place against a backdrop of regional political tensions. The war did not directly affect the organisation or format of the tournament.
Iraqi football in this period has later been discussed in connection with the control of sport under Uday Saddam Hussein, although such accounts generally relate to the wider period rather than this specific tournament.
Qualification
Jordan qualified automatically as hosts and Iraq as holders.
Zone 1 (Gulf Area)
Zone 2 (Red Sea)
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt |
Qualified | |||||||
 Saudi Arabia |
Qualified | |||||||
| Unknown country | Unknown | |||||||
Egypt and Saudi Arabia qualified.
Zone 3 (North Africa)
The tournament was held in Algiers, Algeria. Libya and Morocco withdrew.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 3 |
 Tunisia |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
 Mauritania |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | –4 | 0 |
| Tunisia | 2–1 | Mauritania |
|---|---|---|
Maâloul  37' (pen.)Mahjoubi 84' |
Sikki 16' |
| Algeria | 3–0 | Mauritania |
|---|---|---|
| Boukar 44' Djahmoune 52'Dahmani 85' |
Zone 4 (East Region)
The tournament was held in Aleppo, Syria.
Qualified teams
The 10 qualified teams are:
- Notes
Final tournament
Venues
| Amman | |
|---|---|
| Amman International Stadium | |
| Capacity: 25,000 | |
 |
Squads
Group stage
Algeria and Saudi Arabia did not send their senior national teams to the competition. Instead, Algeria sent a University XI, probably an Under-23 squad, while Saudi Arabia's A team was in Australia during the tournament.[2]
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 |
| Iraq |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 |
 Lebanon |
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 |
 Tunisia |
4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia Ol. |
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia Ol. | 1–1 | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Farhan 80' |
Maaloul 90' (pen.) |
| Lebanon | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Hammoud 81' |
| Iraq | 2–0 | Saudi Arabia Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Radhi 13', 35' |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 |
| Syria |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Algeria UT |
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
 Kuwait Ol. |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
 Bahrain |
4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
| Syria | 1–1 | Algeria UT |
|---|---|---|
| Jakalan 31' |
Hadj Adlane 62' |
| Jordan | 0–1 | Kuwait Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Al Breiki |
| Algeria UT | 0–0 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Algeria UT | 1–0 | Kuwait Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Hadj Adlane 24' |
| Syria | 1–0 | Kuwait Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Kardaghli 81' |
| Jordan | 2–1 | Algeria UT |
|---|---|---|
| Yadaje 61' Abdel Muneim 75' |
El-Groud 74' |
| Kuwait Ol. | 1–1 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Knock-out stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 19 July 1988 – Amman | ||||||
| Syria (pen.) | 0 (4) | |||||
| 21 July 1988 – Amman | ||||||
| Egypt | 0 (3) | |||||
| Syria | 1 (3) | |||||
| 19 July 1988 – Amman | ||||||
| Iraq (pen.) | 1 (4) | |||||
| Iraq | 3 | |||||
| Jordan | 0 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 21 July 1988 – Amman | ||||||
| Egypt | 2 | |||||
| Jordan | 0 | |||||
