Doha, May 25 (QNA) - Qatar has been placed in Group A of the 11th edition of the FIFA Arab Cup 2025, following the official draw held Sunday in Doha.

Qatar will compete in the group alongside Tunisia, Palestine, Libya, and the winner of the qualifying match between Syria and South Sudan.

The tournament will take place from Dec. 1 to Dec. 18 in Doha under the supervision of FIFA, marking the second consecutive edition held in Qatar.

FIFA previously awarded Qatar hosting rights for the next three Arab Cup editions - 2025, 2029 and 2033.

According to the draw, Group B includes Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the winners of the Oman vs. Somalia and Yemen vs. Comoros qualifiers.

Group C features Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and the winner of Kuwait vs. Mauritania.

Group D includes Algeria, Iraq, and the winners of Bahrain vs. Djibouti and Lebanon vs. Sudan.

The draw ceremony featured former football stars including Qatar’s Hassan Al-Haydos, Algeria’s Rabah Madjer, Saudi Arabia’s Yasser Al-Qahtani, and Egypt’s Wael Gomaa.

FIFA based team seeding on the April 3 FIFA World Ranking, with nine nations receiving direct entry to the final tournament and 14 teams set to compete in the preliminary round (playoffs), scheduled for Nov. 25-26 - just days before the main competition kicks off.

The four top-seeded teams - Qatar (host), Algeria (defending champions), Egypt, and Morocco - were assigned to lead the four groups.

Second-tier seeds included Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Jordan.

The third tier featured the UAE and three playoff winners, while the fourth tier will consist of four remaining qualifiers.

FIFA previously announced the seven qualifying matchups, divided by geographic region between Africa and Asia: Oman vs. Somalia; Bahrain vs. Djibouti; Syria vs. South Sudan; Palestine vs. Libya; Lebanon vs. Sudan; Kuwait vs. Mauritania; Yemen vs. Comoros.

Based on the latest FIFA rankings, the nine teams that qualified directly to the finals are: Qatar (ranked 55), Morocco (12), Egypt (32), Algeria (36), Tunisia (49), Saudi Arabia (58), Iraq (59), Jordan (62), and the UAE (65).

The last edition, FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021, was considered a major success. Held at 2022 World Cup venues, it attracted more than 571,000 spectators over 32 matches - averaging nearly 18,000 fans per game.

Algeria won that tournament with a 2-0 extra-time victory over Tunisia in the final, held at Al Bayt Stadium in front of more than 60,000 fans. (QNA)