"The Arab defeats at the World Cup are not a surprise. The surprise is when an Arab team advances to the round of 16 or beyond," said renowned Egyptian sports critic and writer Hassan al-Mestikawi.

The pundit argued that Arab footballers lack the physical fitness of their Western counterparts, as well as being lacking in teamwork, effort and persistence.

"I have always been saying that our performance in the World Cup is more important than taking part in the competition," Mestikawi told Xinhua, stressing the need for well-built, fast and tall Arab players to be able to face strong teams and compete effectively at the World Cup.

He continued that the poor standard of Arab football also has to do with technological and scientific levels, arguing that Arabs will be good at football when they're more developed and advanced. "Football is a small model of our development."

"We Arabs have a long way to go to have a real presence at the World Cup and to compete for the title," said Mestikawi.

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