Tunisia) and 1966 (beaten by Iraq). In the 1966 World Cup qualifiers they were one of two teams from the Asian zone (the other being Israel) to be allocated to the European qualifying zone and were originally placed with Spain and the Republic of Ireland. However, they joined the Asian and African boycott of the 1966 qualifiers, due to the decision of FIFA to allocate just one place between Asia and Africa. 1970s: Successes in Arab competitions In the 1970s, they regularly participated in the Palestine Cup, which served as a substitute for the Arab Cup. At the 1972 Palestine Cup, they placed fourth when they lost 1:3 to Algeria. At the 1973 Palestine Cup, they advanced from the group stage to the semifinals, where they eliminated Algeria after penalties (0:0, pen. 3:2). In the final of the cup, they clearly lost to Tunisia 0:4. In the 1974 Kuneitra Cup, the Qasioun Eagles entered the knockout phase after the group defeat of Sudan, Libya, Palestine and North Yemen. In the semifinals of the cup, they defeated Tunisia (3:1), but in the final they unfortunately lost to Morocco after a penalty shootout. For the 1974 World Cup, they finished second in the group in the 1st round of the qualification, behind the Iran, insufficient to advance to the next round. The players who made Syrian football famous were the players of Barada SC, with the best elite of football players, such as Faris Sultji, Marwan Dardari, Ahmad Talib Tamim, Mohammad Khair Dhaher, Ahmad Alian, Joseph Chahrestan, Farouq Bozo, Ahmad al-Akad, Jamal al-Sharif. At the 1975 Palestine Cup, they eliminated Libya in the group stage, but lost to Iraq in the semifinals 0: 4 and in the bronze medal match with Sudan 0:1. In 1976, Damascus hosted the Pan Arab Games, whose football tournament was played at the Abbasiyyin Stadium, where the home Syrian team won bronze medals. In the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification, the Qasioun Eagles did not go through the first round, as despite losing one victory over Saudi Arabia (2:0) they lost both matches to Iran, finishing in third place in the group. The years 1980-1996: an improvement in Syrian football The Syrian team made it to 1980 Olympics thanks to Iran, as the team withdrew due to the American-led boycott of the Olympics. Despite losing 0:3 to the Algeria and 0:5 to the GDR, they gained experience