1988 Arab Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Jordan |
| Dates | 8–21 July |
| Teams | 10 (from 2 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 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(s) | Tawfiq Al-Saheb |
← 1985 1992 → | |
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 time.
Qualification
Jordan qualified automatically as hosts and Iraq as holders.
Zone 1 (Gulf Area)
Zone 2 (Red Sea)
Egypt & 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 |
| Algeria | 3–0 | Mauritania |
|---|---|---|
Boukar  44'Djahmoune 52'Dahmani 85' |
Attendance: 3,000
Zone 4 (East Region)
Syria qualified.
Qualified teams
The 8 qualified teams are:
| Participants | |
|---|---|
| Zone | Team |
| Hosts | Jordan
|
| Holders | Iraq
|
| Zone 1 (Gulf Area) |  Bahrain
|
 Kuwait Ol.
| |
| Zone 2 (Red Sea) | Egypt
|
 Saudi Arabia Ol.
| |
| Zone 3 (North Africa) | Algeria UT
|
| Tunisia
| |
| Zone 4 (East Region) | Syria
|
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.[1]
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 |
| Egypt | 0–0 | Saudi Arabia Ol. |
|---|---|---|
Attendance: 17,000
| Saudi Arabia Ol. | 1–1 | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Farhan 80' |
Maaloul 90' (pen.) |
Attendance: 8,000
| Lebanon | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Hammoud 81' |
Attendance: 18,000
| Iraq | 2–0 | Saudi Arabia Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Radhi 13', 35' |
Attendance: 22,000
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' |
Attendance: 15,000
| Jordan | 0–1 | Kuwait Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Al Breiki |
Attendance: 21,000
| Algeria UT | 0–0 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
Attendance: 21,000
| Algeria UT | 1–0 | Kuwait Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Hadj Adlane 24' |
| Syria | 1–0 | Kuwait Ol. |
|---|---|---|
| Kardaghli 81' |
Attendance: 20,000
| Jordan | 2–1 | Algeria UT |
|---|---|---|
| Yadaje 61' Abdel Muneim 75' |
El-Groud 74' |
Attendance: 27,000
| Kuwait Ol. | 1–1 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Attendance: 20,000
Knock-out stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 19 July 1988 – Amman | ||||||
| Syria (pen.) | 0 (4) | |||||
| 21 July 1988 – Amman | ||||||
| Egypt | 0 (3) | |||||
| Iraq (pen.) | 1 (4) | |||||
| 19 July 1988 – Amman | ||||||
| Syria | 1 (3) | |||||
| Iraq | 3 | |||||
| Jordan | 0 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 21 July 1988 – Amman | ||||||
| Egypt | 2 | |||||
| Jordan | 0 | |||||
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
Final
Top scorers
- 4 Goals
- 2 Goals