Casting Shadows
From The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey by James M. Dorsey
June 9, 2026 · 11 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of the Middle East's involvement in the World Cup and potential surprises from various teams.
With an unprecedented eight teams competing, the Middle East casts its long shadow over this year’s World Cup; not always for the right reasons. The shadow may not always cloud the pitch, even though several teams could spring a surprise. Think of Tunisia in 2022 beating France, Saudi Arabia defeating Argentina, and Morocco reaching the semi-finals in the Qatar World Cup, the first African team to make it to the final four. In this year’s tournament, imagine the United States, the first World Cup organiser to host a team from a country with which it is at war, playing Iran at some point during the tournament, or Iran encountering Qatar or Saudi Arabia, countries it has bombed during the Iran war and continues to threaten.
People in this episode
Host: James M. Dorsey
Topics covered
- World Cup
- Middle East
- Football
- International Relations
- Surprise Teams
- Sports History
Keywords
- World Cup
- Middle East
- Iran
- Saudi Arabia
- Football
- Surprise Teams
- Tunisia
- Morocco
- Qatar
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Middle East, Tunisia, France, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Morocco, Qatar, Iran
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- Reshaping the Islamic Republic · June 7, 2026 · 13 min
- Middle East Report · June 5, 2026 · 7 min
- Living by the sword · June 4, 2026 · 12 min
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