Engalnd have hardly played middle eastern competition. They had 2 draws with Saudi Arabia in 1988 home and away, beat Kuwait 1-0 in the world cup in 1982 and beat minnows Malaysia 4-2 in Malaysia in 1991.
Middle eastern footballers , from what I have seen, are skillful and quick. They do have issues with temperament, but the same can be said of Balkan teams. They get well paid to play in middle eastern leagues, the lifestyle suits and therefore do not really strive to play elsewhere. To say teams like Syria etc are easy beats, especially at home (including climate and pitch conditions) is a stretch. I know Syria did not play at home, but that probably added to their desire.
Given a hot, humid night, a couple days to travel etc, I think any non middle eastern team would struggle, against a committed Middle East team who turned up to play.
