Saudi Arabia national football team

The Saudi Arabia national football team (Arabic: المنتخب العربي السعودي لكرة القدم‎) represents Saudi Arabia in men's international football and The team's colours are green and white. Saudi Arabia are known as Al-Suqour (The Falcons) and Al-Akhdhar (The Green), The team represents both FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Saudi Arabia
Nickname(s)الأخضر (al-‘Akhḍar, "The Green One")
الصقور الخضر (aṣ-Ṣuqūr al-‘Akhḍar, "The Green Falcons")
AssociationSaudi Arabian Football Federation
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationWAFF (West Asia)
Head coachHervé Renard
CaptainSalman Al-Faraj
Most capsMohamed Al-Deayea (178)[1]
Top scorerMajed Abdullah (71)
FIFA codeKSA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 67 (9 April 2020)[2]
Highest21 (July 2004)
Lowest126 (December 2012)
Elo ranking
Current 68 3 (2 April 2020)[3]
Highest27 (November 1998)
Lowest112 (1970, 1972)
First international
 Lebanon 1–1 Saudi Arabia 
(Beirut, Lebanon; 18 January 1957)
Biggest win
 Timor-Leste 0–10 Saudi Arabia 
(Dili, East Timor; 17 November 2015)
Biggest defeat
 United Arab Republic 13–0 Saudi Arabia 
(Casablanca, Morocco; 3 September 1961)
World Cup
Appearances5 (first in 1994)
Best resultRound of 16 (1994)
Asian Cup
Appearances10 (first in 1984)
Best resultChampions (1984, 1988, 1996)
Confederations Cup
Appearances4 (first in 1992)
Best resultRunners-up (1992)

Considered one of Asia's most successful national teams, Saudi Arabia have won the Asian Cup three times (1984, 1988, and 1996), reached a joint record six Asian Cup finals and have qualified for the World Cup on five occasions since debuting at the 1994 tournament.

In the 1994 World Cup under the leadership of Jorge Solari, Saudi Arabia beat both Belgium and Morocco in the group stage before falling to Sweden in the Round of 16. Thus Saudi Arabia became the second Arab national football team in history to reach the Round of 16 in a World Cup, after Morocco's Round of 16 elimination in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, and one of the few Asian national football teams (others being Australia, Japan, South Korea, North Korea) to accomplish such a feat to date.

History

The idea of a Saudi national team first came about in 1951, when a Saudi XI team consisting of players from Al-Wehda and Al-Ahli took part in a friendly game against the Egyptian Ministry of Health on June 27, 1951 at the Al-Saban Stadium in Jeddah. The following day, the Egyptians took on a Saudi team made up of players from Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal in Al-Bahri in Jeddah. On August 2, 1951, His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal organized a third friendly with the Egyptian team against a Saudi National XI with players from Al-Wehda, and Al-Ahli. By then the idea of a national select team to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was already in full flow, and in 1953 the first-ever Saudi team traveled to play friendly matches abroad. The same year, a Saudi team traveled to Damascus to play friendly matches as part of then-Crown Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz’s visit to the country on April 1953.[4] In 1957, the Saudi national team took part in their first international tournament at the 2nd Pan-Arab Games in Beirut, where King Saud was invited to attend the opening ceremony and the inauguration of the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium with Lebanese President Camille Chamoun on October 18, 1957. The first game played at the stadium was between the national teams of Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Abdulmajeed Kayal scored for the Saudis while Levon Altonian netted for the home side. The Saudi players came from teams from Jeddah and Mecca, while the team was given support and encouragement from Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal for their trip to Beirut.[5]

Though their football federation was established in 1956, the Saudi Arabia national team did not participate in a tournament until they qualified for the AFC Asian Cup in 1984, which they won. They subsequently became one of Asia's most successful national teams, reaching the next four consecutive Asian Cup finals and winning two of them (1988 and 1996). They have qualified for every Asian Cup since, but their best performance in that period was reaching the final in 2007.

Saudi Arabia qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 1994. Under the leadership of Jorge Solari and with talents like Saeed Al-Owairan and Sami Al-Jaber, reinforced by national veteran Majed Abdullah as team captain, Saudi Arabia beat both Belgium and Morocco in the group stage before falling to Sweden in the Round of 16. Saudi Arabia qualified for the next three World Cups, but did not win a group stage match in any of them. They failed to qualify for the 2010 and 2014 tournaments.

Saudi Arabia secured qualification for the 2018 tournament,[6] ahead of Australia. However, they started on a sour note by letting host Russia rout them 0–5 on the opening match,[7] making this the second largest victory of any host nation at the FIFA World Cup.[8] The record of the host's largest opening victory is still by Italy, beating the United States 7–1, in 1934.[9] Once again, Saudi Arabia failed to reach the next round, after suffering another defeat, this time, losing 0–1 to Uruguay.[10] Saudi Arabia's performance in the tournament was deemed to be their worst performance since 2002 World Cup, where they were beaten 8-0 by Germany in their opening game and finished 32nd and bottom in the final rankings. Although they were eliminated,[11] they managed to salvage some pride by winning their final group stage match (and their first win at a World Cup since 1994) against Red Sea neighbours Egypt.[12]

After the 2018 World Cup, Saudi Arabia participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with a very high optimism after an acceptable performance in the World Cup, with the Saudis won its first World Cup game since 1994 edition. However, Saudi Arabia finished second in the group stage, after falling to Qatar in the final game,[13] and had to face another giant, Japan, in the round of sixteen. The Saudis dominated the whole game, but ultimately lost 0–1 due to poor finishing and crashed out from the competition.[14]

On 15 October 2019, Saudi Arabia played its first-ever game with Palestine in the West Bank. The game marked a change in policy for Saudi Arabia, which has previously played matches against the Palestinian team in third-party countries, the visit was condemned by some Palestinian activists who considered the game as a start of normalizing the relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but it was viewed by the Palestinian National Authority as a support for their sovereignty over the West Bank.[15] The game ended in a scoreless draw.[16]

Honours

International
  • FIFA Confederations Cup:
Runner-up: 1992
Fourth Place: 1999

Continental
Winner: 1984, 1988, 1996
Runner-up: 1992, 2000, 2007
  • Asian Games
Silver Medalists: 1986
Bronze Medalists: 1982

Regional
  • Arabian Gulf Cup:
Winner: 1994, 2002, 2003
Runner-up: 1972, 1974, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2019
Third Place: 1970, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1996
  • Arab Nations Cup:
Winner: 1998, 2002
Runner-up: 1992
Third Place: 1985
  • Pan Arab Games
Silver Medalists: 1976
Bronze Medalists: 2007

Other
  • Afro-Asian Cup of Nations:
Runner-up: 1985, 1997
  • 2005 Islamic Solidarity Games
Gold Medalists: 2005

Kits and crests

The Saudi Arabia national football team's first kit are traditionally white and the second kit are green (flag colors).[17]

Kit suppliers
Kit supplier Period
Admiral 1976–1980
Puma 1980–1984
Faison 1984–1990
Adidas 1990–1993
Shammel 1994–2001
Adidas 2001–2003
Le Coq Sportif 2004–2005
Puma 2005–2010
Nike 2011–present

Competitive record
*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty shootouts. Red border indicates that the tournament was hosted on home soil. Gold, silver, bronze backgrounds indicate 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes respectively. Bold text indicates best finish in tournament.

FIFA World Cup
Saudi players warm-up before their match against Ukraine during the 2006 FIFA World Cup (19 June 2006)
Saudi Arabia players before the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening fixture, against hosts Russia in Group A.
World Cup record World Cup Qualification record
Hosts / year Result Position GP W D L GS GA GP W D L GS GA
1930Not a FIFA member No qualification
1934 Not a FIFA member
1938
1950
1954
1958Did not enter Did not enter
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978Did not qualify 410337
1982 10415916
1986 201101
1990 9432119
1994Round of 1612th420256 11650287
1998Group stage28th301227 14932267
200232nd3003012 141121478
200628th301227 121020242
2010Did not qualify 158432515
2014 8332147
2018Group stage26th310227 1812334514
2022To be determined 312052
2026
TotalRound of 165/23163211113912069292223795

AFC Asian Cup

All Time Results

The following table shows Saudi Arabia's all-time international record, correct as of 25 June 2018.

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA
Total631303140179978671

Recent schedule and results

The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2019

2020

Players

Current squad
  • The following 23 players were called up for the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup:[18][19][20][21]
  • Match date: 27 November 2019 – 8 December 2019
  • Opposition:  Kuwait,  Bahrain,  Oman &  Qatar.
  • Caps and goals are correct as of 8 December 2019, after the match against  Bahrain.
  • Caps and goals including all matches officially recognized by SAFF (also those not recognized by FIFA).
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Amin Bukhari (1997-05-02) 2 May 1997 0 0 Al-Ittihad
21 1GK Mohammed Al-Rubeai (1997-08-14) 14 August 1997 0 0 Al-Ahli
22 1GK Fawaz Al-Qarni (1992-04-02) 2 April 1992 9 0 Al-Ittihad
2 2DF Saud Abdulhamid (1999-07-18) 18 July 1999 4 0 Al-Ittihad
3 2DF Hassan Tombakti (1999-02-09) 9 February 1999 6 0 Al-Wehda
4 2DF Ziyad Al-Sahafi (1994-10-17) 17 October 1994 8 0 Al-Ittihad
5 2DF Mohammed Al-Khabrani (1993-10-14) 14 October 1993 14 2 Al-Ahli
6 2DF Talal Al-Absi (1993-02-22) 22 February 1993 1 0 Al-Taawoun
13 2DF Yasser Al-Shahrani (1992-05-25) 25 May 1992 57 0 Al-Hilal
16 2DF Sultan Al-Ghanam (1994-05-06) 6 May 1994 7 0 Al-Nassr
7 3MF Salman Al-Faraj (1989-08-01) 1 August 1989 56 6 Al-Hilal
8 3MF Yahya Al-Shehri (1990-06-26) 26 June 1990 75 8 Al-Nassr
10 3MF Nawaf Al Abed (1990-01-26) 26 January 1990 48 8 Al-Hilal
11 3MF Hattan Bahebri (1992-07-16) 16 July 1992 27 4 Al-Hilal
12 3MF Abdulellah Al-Malki (1994-10-11) 11 October 1994 8 0 Al-Ittihad
14 3MF Abdullah Otayf (1992-08-03) 3 August 1992 37 1 Al-Hilal
15 3MF Abdulfattah Asiri (1994-02-26) 26 February 1994 20 2 Al-Ahli
18 3MF Salem Al-Dawsari (1991-08-19) 19 August 1991 51 11 Al-Hilal
19 3MF Turki Al-Ammar (1999-09-24) 24 September 1999 2 0 Al-Shabab
20 3MF Abdulaziz Al-Bishi (1994-03-11) 11 March 1994 15 1 Al-Ittihad
23 3MF Mohamed Kanno (1994-09-22) 22 September 1994 15 1 Al-Hilal
9 4FW Abdullah Al-Hamdan (1999-09-12) 12 September 1999 9 3 Al-Shabab
17 4FW Firas Al-Buraikan (2000-05-14) 14 May 2000 8 2 Al-Nassr

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Saudi Arabia squad within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Mohammed Al-Owais (1991-10-10) 10 October 1991 21 0 Al-Ahli 24th Arabian Gulf Cup INJ
GK Abdullah Al-Mayouf (1987-01-23) 23 January 1987 14 0 Al-Hilal v.  Yemen, 10 September 2019 INJ
GK Mustafa Malayekah (1986-05-21) 21 May 1986 7 0 Al-Faisaly 2019 WAFF Championship
GK Abdullah Al-Jadaani (1991-03-06) 6 March 1991 0 0 Al-Wehda 2019 WAFF Championship
GK Abdullah Al-Saleh (1988-01-15) 15 January 1988 0 0 Al-Ettifaq 2019 WAFF Championship
DF Mohammed Al-Breik (1992-09-15) 15 September 1992 25 1 Al-Hilal 24th Arabian Gulf Cup INJ
DF Abdullah Madu (1993-07-15) 15 July 1993 2 0 Al-Nassr 24th Arabian Gulf Cup INJ
DF Abdulrahman Al-Obaid (1993-04-30) 30 April 1993 6 0 Al-Nassr v.  Paraguay, 19 November 2019
DF Ali Lajami (1996-04-24) 24 April 1996 1 0 Al-Fateh v.  Paraguay, 19 November 2019
DF Ali Al-Bulaihi (1989-11-21) 21 November 1989 17 0 Al-Hilal v.  Palestine, 15 October 2019
DF Abdullah Al-Shamekh (1993-05-28) 28 May 1993 2 1 Al-Shabab v.  Palestine, 15 October 2019
DF Omar Hawsawi (1985-09-27) 27 September 1985 53 3 Al-Nassr v.  Yemen, 10 September 2019 RET
DF Hamdan Al-Shamrani (1996-12-14) 14 December 1996 6 0 Al-Ittihad v.  Yemen, 10 September 2019
DF Mohammed Al-Fatil (1992-01-04) 4 January 1992 15 1 Al-Ahli v.  Mali, 5 September 2019 INJ
DF Muteb Al-Mufarrij (1996-08-19) 19 August 1996 3 0 Al-Shabab 2019 WAFF Championship
DF Fawaz Al-Sqoor (1996-04-23) 23 April 1996 3 0 Al-Wehda 2019 WAFF Championship
DF Sami Al-Khaibari (1989-09-18) 18 September 1989 2 0 Al-Fayha 2019 WAFF Championship
DF Wesam Al-Sowayed (1987-11-29) 29 November 1987 2 0 Al-Hazem 2019 WAFF Championship
DF Mohammed Al-Amri (1991-11-26) 26 November 1991 1 0 Al-Raed 2019 WAFF Championship
DF Hussain Al-Showaish (1989-11-01) 1 November 1989 1 0 Al-Raed 2019 WAFF Championship
DF Yazeed Al-Bakr (1995-11-11) 11 November 1995 1 0 Al-Ahli 2019 WAFF Championship PRE
DF Madallah Al-Olayan (1994-08-25) 25 August 1994 2 0 Al-Hilal v.  Equatorial Guinea, 25 March 2019
DF Bander Nasser (1990-03-14) 14 March 1990 1 0 Al-Fayha v.  Equatorial Guinea, 25 March 2019
DF Sultan Ghunaiman (1989-09-13) 13 September 1989 0 0 Al-Batin v.  Equatorial Guinea, 25 March 2019
MF Abdullah Al-Khaibari (1996-08-16) 16 August 1996 10 0 Al-Nassr v.  Paraguay, 19 November 2019
MF Mohammed Al-Kwikbi (1994-08-08) 8 August 1994 5 0 Al-Ettifaq v.  Paraguay, 19 November 2019
MF Abdurahman Al-Dossari (1997-09-25) 25 September 1997 4 0 Al-Nassr v.  Paraguay, 19 November 2019
MF Mukhtar Ali (1997-10-30) 30 October 1997 3 0 Al-Nassr v.  Paraguay, 19 November 2019
MF Abdulmajeed Al-Swat (1995-04-21) 21 April 1995 1 0 Al-Taawoun v.  Paraguay, 19 November 2019
MF Khaled Al-Sumairi (1997-01-01) 1 January 1997 2 0 Al-Ittihad v.  Yemen, 10 September 2019
MF Mohammed Al-Sahli (1992-05-22) 22 May 1992 0 0 Al-Raed v.  Yemen, 10 September 2019
MF Rabee Sufyani (1987-01-26) 26 January 1987 8 2 Al-Taawoun 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Ali Al-Nemer (1991-08-25) 25 August 1991 5 0 Al-Wehda 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Naif Hazazi (1992-09-30) 30 September 1992 5 0 Al-Qadsiah 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Abdulkareem Al-Qahtani (1993-02-09) 9 February 1993 4 0 Al-Fayha 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Khalid Kaabi (1992-05-24) May 24, 1992 4 0 Al-Faisaly 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Mohammed Al-Fuhaid (1990-01-08) 8 January 1990 3 0 Al-Fateh 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Mansor Hamzi (1992-01-17) 17 January 1992 3 0 Al-Hazem 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Mohammed Al-Majhad (1998-07-16) 16 July 1998 2 0 Al-Ahli 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Hatem Belal (1994-01-30) 30 January 1994 2 0 Al-Wehda 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Abdulmohsen Al-Qahtani (1999-06-05) 5 June 1999 1 0 Al-Qadsiah 2019 WAFF Championship
MF Saleh Al-Amri (1993-10-14) October 14, 1993 3 0 Al-Ettifaq 2019 WAFF Championship PRE
MF Hassan Al-Habib (1994-09-14) 14 September 1994 2 0 Al-Hazem v.  Equatorial Guinea, 25 March 2019
MF Osama Al-Khalaf (1996-12-26) 26 December 1996 2 0 Al-Hazem v.  Equatorial Guinea, 25 March 2019
MF Ahmed Al-Zain (1991-07-02) 2 July 1991 2 0 Al-Raed v.  Equatorial Guinea, 25 March 2019
MF Ali Hazazi (1994-02-18) 18 February 1994 2 0 Al-Ettifaq v.  Equatorial Guinea, 25 March 2019
MF Sultan Mendash (1994-10-17) 17 October 1994 2 0 Al-Ahli v.  Equatorial Guinea, 25 March 2019
MF Fares Al-Ayyaf (1992-03-01) 1 March 1992 1 0 Al-Hazem v.  Equatorial Guinea, 25 March 2019
MF Waleed Bakshween (1989-11-12) 12 November 1989 16 0 Al-Wehda v.  United Arab Emirates, 21 March 2019 INJ
FW Haroune Camara (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 9 0 Al-Ittihad v.  Paraguay, 19 November 2019
FW Abdulfattah Adam (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 4 2 Al-Nassr 2019 WAFF Championship
FW Hassan Sharahili (1993-02-24) 24 February 1993 2 0 Al-Batin 2019 WAFF Championship
  • SUS Player suspended
  • INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury
  • RET Retired from the national team

Managerial history

Updated 29 July 2019.[22][23]

Records
As of 20 November 2018

References
  1. "FIFA Century Club" (PDF). Fifa.com. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  3. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  4. "1953.. أول بعثة رياضية إلى الخارج".
  5. "Saudi Arabia - History".
  6. "Saudi Arabia reaches World Cup finals with dramatic win over Japan". Arab News. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  7. Fletcher, Paul (14 June 2018). "World Cup 2018: Russia thrash Saudi Arabia 5-0 in tournament". BBC Sport. Moscow: BBC. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  8. Bond, George (20 June 2018). "Are Saudi Arabia the worst team ever at a World Cup?". Talksport. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  9. Molinaro, John (9 June 2018). "History of the World Cup: 1934 – Italy wins for Il Duce". Sportsnet. Rogers Media. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  10. "World Cup: Uruguay defeat Saudi Arabia 1-0, qualify for knockout stages". Euronews. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  11. "Highlights: Saudi Arabia beat Egypt as both nations eliminated". itv.com. ITV plc. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  12. Chowdhury, Saj (25 June 2018). "Mohamed Salah scored his second goal of the World Cup but Egypt ended their campaign pointless with defeat by Saudi Arabia at Volgograd Arena". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  13. http://iranpress.com/en/middle_east-i131625-afc_asian_cup_2019_saudi_arabia_0_2_qatar_in_abu_dhabi
  14. https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/asian-cup-japan-tops-saudi-arabia-australia-wins-shootout-012119
  15. "Some booed Saudi-Palestinian soccer match in West Bank even before it started". The Washington Post.
  16. "2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ Qualifiers - Asia - Matches - Palestine - Saudi Arabia - FIFA.com". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  17. UNDER THE RADAR BUT BRIMMING WITH OPTIMISM
  18. "رينارد يعلن قائمة الأخضر لبطولة كأس الخليج الـ24".
  19. "استبعاد محمد العويس "إصابة"".
  20. "استبعد المدير الفني للمنتخب الوطني إيرڤي رينارد قبل مغادرة البعثة اللاعب "عبدالله مادو"".
  21. "استدعى المدير الفني للمنتخب الوطني الأول إيرڤي رينارد لاعب خط الدفاع "طلال العبسي"".
  22. "Overview of coaches". ksa-team.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  23. "Saudi Arabia National Team Coaches". rsssf.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  24. Naeim Albakr. "Saudi Arabia – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 September 2013.

    Titles
    Preceded by
    1980 Kuwait     		 Asian Champions
    1984 (First title)
    1988 (Second title)    		 Succeeded by
    1992 Japan 
    Preceded by
    1992 Japan     		 Asian Champions
    1996 (Third title)    		 Succeeded by
    2000 Japan 
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