| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Saudi Arabia |
| Dates | 3–12 July |
| Teams | 6 (from 2 confederations) |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Iraq (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  Bahrain |
| Third place |  Saudi Arabia |
| Fourth place |  Qatar |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 10 |
| Goals scored | 21 (2.1 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Anad Abid (5 goals) |
| Best player | Mohamed Abd Al-Jawad[1] |
| Bestgoalkeeper |  Mohammed Saleh |
| Fair play award |  Jordan |
←1966 1988 → | |
The1985 Arab Cup was the fourth edition of theArab Cup hosted byTa'if,Saudi Arabia. The competition returned after nineteen years of absence and was the first one under the auspices of theUnion of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The defending championIraq won the title for the third consecutive time.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(January 2026) |
The tournament was held inRiyadh,Saudi Arabia.[2][3]
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 6 |
 Sudan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | ? | ? | ? | 4 |
 Somalia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ? | ? | ? | 1 |
 South Yemen | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | –2 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | South Yemen |
|---|---|---|
Al-Nafisah 36' |
| Saudi Arabia | 3–0 | Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Nafisah 24' Abdullah 43',69' |
Saudi Arabia qualified.
Mauritania qualified automatically as the other North African teams (Algeria,Libya,Morocco andTunisia) withdrew due to their participation in the1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[5]
Mauritania qualified.
The tournament was held inAmman,Jordan.[6]
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 2 |
| Iraq | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | –1 | 0 |
Jordan andIraq qualified due to the withdrawal of the other teams in the group.
Iraq participated with its B team in the final tournament. The 6 qualified teams were:
| Participants | |
|---|---|
| Zone | Team |
| Zone 1 (Gulf Area) | Bahrain |
| Qatar | |
| Zone 2 (Red Sea) | Saudi Arabia(hosts) |
| Zone 3 (North Africa) |  Mauritania |
| Zone 4 (East Region) | Iraq B |
| Jordan | |
| Ta’if | |
|---|---|
| King Fahd Stadium | |
| Capacity:17,000 | |
 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 4 |
| Qatar | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 2 |
| Jordan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | Jordan |
|---|---|---|
| Nu'eimeh 45' Azmi 49' (o.g.)Al-Musaibeah 58'Al-Bishi 89' | Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Mohammad 61' | Report |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrain | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 |
| Iraq B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 |
| Mauritania | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 |
| Bahrain | 2–0 | Mauritania |
|---|---|---|
| Shwetar 15',74' |
| Iraq B | 2–0 | Mauritania |
|---|---|---|
| Mahmoud 42' Abid 60' |
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 10 July 1985 –Taif | ||||||
| Iraq B | 3 | |||||
| 12 July 1985 –Taif | ||||||
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | |||||
| Iraq B | 1 | |||||
| 10 July 1985 –Taif | ||||||
| Bahrain | 0 | |||||
| Bahrain (p) | 1 (3) | |||||
| Qatar | 1 (1) | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 12 July 1985 –Taif | ||||||
| Saudi Arabia (p) | 0 (3) | |||||
| Qatar | 0 (1) | |||||
| Iraq B | 3–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Abid 13',18' Rashid 28' | Report | Nu'eimeh 47' (pen.) Abd Al-Jawad 88' |
| Bahrain | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Harban 55' | Muftah 40' | |
| Penalties | ||
Hassan Shwetar  Saif Al-Harban | 3–1 | Al-AdsaniAl AmmariSabelaMuftah |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||
| Abd Al-Jawad Al-Bishi Al-Dosari Khamees | 3–1 | Al-AdsaniAnberKhalfanZaid |
There were 21 goals scored in 10 matches, for an average of 2.1 goals per match.
5 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
Hussam Azmi (vs Saudi Arabia)
