Khaberni - Oscar Garre, the 1986 World Cup champion, warned Argentina about the matches against Algeria and Jordan in the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, pointing out that the quality of Arab players has become significantly evident, especially with their brilliance in European leagues.
Argentina plays alongside Algeria, appearing for the fifth time in the World Cup, and Jordan in their first appearance, and Austria returning to the World Cup after a long absence, in Group Ten of the tournament.
Garre, a teammate of Maradona in the 1986 Mexico World Cup, told "Al Arabiya.net": Argentina enters the World Cup as the champion of the last edition, but this should not make the players feel they are better than their opponents, because any team will put in double the effort to win against the world champion.
He continued: The performance of Arab national teams has significantly improved recently. They have brought in foreign coaches who have done excellent work, so Argentina needs to be cautious in the World Cup. Things are no longer as they were before; there’s not a big difference anymore between us and the African and Asian teams. Therefore, Lionel Scaloni and the rest of the stars need to be cautious and prepare seriously to prevent that.
Garre (39 international matches and 6 goals) continued: My friend Hector Cuper had various experiences in the Arab region, specifically in Egypt, and thus when we meet, we talk about the Arab players whom I believe have developed a lot, especially with a number of them playing in Europe, and this gives them confidence when they face major teams in the World Cup.
The former Argentine defender concluded: There’s no longer a superiority in the World Cup for one team over another; everyone who has reached the tournament deserves to be there and has high quality, and we in Argentina must recognize that.
