Opinion

·22nd June 2026

FIFA World Cup 2010 quaterfinal between Uruguay and Ghana

Opinion

·22nd June 2026

Prayer on the pitch at the 2026 World Cup

Saba Ahmadzadeh Noughani

With a record-breaking fourteen Muslim-majority countries playing in this year’s World Cup, it is officially, as it has often been described, the “most Muslim World Cup.” The 2026 World Cup is also historic for some Muslim majority nations. It is Jordan’s first World Cup appearance, sees Iraq returning to the pitch after 40 years, and marks Türkiye’s reinstatement after 24 years away. However, it has also not been without its challenges. With the US administration’s “Muslim Ban” many Muslim players attempting to enter the country have been met with hostility, detained, or refused entry. 

Uzbekistan and Senegal’s national teams were, according to some commentators, “treated like criminals” and met with “humiliating” security and baggage checks at the border, including invasive procedures, drug-sniffing dogs, and extensive unpacking. Iraq’s top player, Ayman Hussein, was detained and questioned for over 7 hours before entering, while the team’s photographer was detained for 10 hours before being told he was not permitted to enter. Award-winning ‘African referee of the year’, Omar Artan, who was set to be FIFA’s first Somali referee officiating the World Cup, was also refused entry. While all of Iran’s matches are to be played on US soil, the team has no choice but to commute from Mexico for every single match and leave the country the same day. In addition, fifteen of their team’s staff have been denied visas to even enter the country.

Despite these challenges, and the overall rise in anti-Muslim hostility across Europe and where the World Cup is being hosted, the US, Muslim players are openly displaying their Islamic religious identity and bringing their faith to the world’s biggest stage. They have continued to celebrate their goals by making Sajda (prostration), reciting prayers before matches, and raising their hands in dua (prayer). 

Sajda is the Islamic act of prostrating before God, where one places their forehead upon the ground towards the Qibla (the direction of prayer, facing the Kaaba in Mecca). It is a movement made twice in each rak’ah (unit) of the five obligatory daily prayers. Sajdat al- Shukr is a prostration outside of the five daily prayers, and intended to express gratitude to God. One is not required to face the Qibla, be in a state of Wudu (ablution) or purity, and can perform this at any time upon hearing good news, such as the birth of a baby, or in the case of the World Cup, scoring a goal. 

The first Sajdat al-Shukr I remember watching on a TV screen was during the 2012 London Olympics where Sir Mo Farah, after winning the 10,000m gold, immediately thanked God in this way in front of the world on Olympic tracks. Muslim footballers do the same and thus Sajdat al-Shukr has become one of the most widely-witnessed expressions of Muslim pride in global sport. Such public displays of Islamic identity in sport have shown to reduce anti-Muslim hostility, a phenomenon coined the “Salah effect.” After Salah joined Liverpool FC in 2017, it led to a 53% drop in anti-Muslim tweets among Liverpool fans compared to other clubs’ fans. In fact this even had some Liverpool fans chanting “If he scores another few, then I’ll be Muslim too”

In this year’s World Cup, the Muslim players who bowed into sajda, laying their forehead upon the grass in front of the world, include Emam Ashour, who scored Egypt’s first goal against Belgium with a 20th-minute strike. This was Egypt’s first World Cup goal in decades, and through this celebration, was immediately credited to God. Likewise, when the Jordan team scored their first World Cup goal against Austria, they collectively performed sajda.

The Iranian national team also famously bowed into sajda after equalising against New Zealand. Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammed Mohebi both netted in a 2-2 draw, and following each goal players collectively prostrated on the pitch. Qatar’s goalkeeper, Mahmud Abunada, also fell into sujood after helping the team earn their first-ever World Cup point. Similarly, when Yasin Ayari, a Swedish Muslim midfielder born to Moroccan and Tunisian parents, scored for Sweden against Tunisia, as the stadium erupted in cheers he instead bowed into sujood and raised his hands in dua reciting a prayer.

The Egyptian national team prayed and recited verses of the Quran together in their locker room before their match against New Zealand. During the Morocco vs. Brazil match, cameras caught Moroccan player Anass Salah-Eddine making dua on the sidelines. Eighteen year old Spanish footballer Lamin Yamal, who came off the bench during Spain’s draw against Cabo Verde, was also seen raising his hands in dua on the field before the match. Against Saudi Arabia, he was also seen performing sajda after scoring a goal.

Despite this joyous moment, and research pointing to the ‘Salah effect’, Yamal in fact faced an avalanche of attacks simply because of his sujood. One video shared by TRT shows a Spanish fan saying “The goal is stained […] I don’t celebrate it”. Additionally, thousands created and posted anti-Muslim AI deepfakes of Yamal, one including him eating bacon off the ground. A video captioned “Spain is Christian, not Muslim” has gained 3 million views thus far and shows a group of players lifting Yamal off the ground and placing a cross there instead.

The irony, however, lies in the fact that modern Spain in particular was a Muslim state for 7 centuries, and Islamic contributions to architecture can still be seen in Spain’s landscape today, including in sites like Alhambra in Granada and the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. Furthermore, given that Muslim and ethnic minority footballers are most targeted for their backgrounds, with Yamal being the most targeted footballer on social media in Spain, continuing to celebrate with sujood is all the more significant.

In these moments, 2 billion Muslims are being represented, and watching themselves, on screen, and for the many billions of non-Muslims tuning in, this may be their first time witnessing Islamic acts of worship. Celebrating in this way sends a clear message that Muslim identity and religiosity belongs in all – especially prestigious – public places, and makes space for every Muslim to unapologetically display their faith in front of non-Muslims, and in their public lives.

As a British Muslim who used to feel shy praying at lunch time in front of my non-Muslim peers at primary school, these Muslim players are not merely playing for their own countries and flags. Through their choice of celebration, and public display of Islamic faith at a time of great suffering and hatred faced by many Muslims across the world, they are playing and fighting for our right to be seen. 

source https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2026/06/22/prayer-on-the-pitch-at-the-2026-world-cup/#google_vignette