Saudi Arabia is another name from the Asian region to participate in the twenty-second edition of the men’s biggest football tournament, the FIFA World Cup. One of the most successful teams from Asia, Saudi Arabia, has been a part of the soccer World Cup for a long time.
Furthermore, the 3X Asian Cup and 3X Arab Gulf Champion Saudi Arabian national team are called Green Falcons. It has made six appearances in the FIFA World Cup football. Let’s read more about Saudi Arabian football history, current squad, and preparation for the Qatar World Cup 2022.
Saudi Arabian national team Football History
Football developed in Saudi Arabia in the early 1950s when Saudi played three friendly matches with the Egyptian health ministry department. Then His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah AL-Faisal invited the Egyptian team to a friendly game with Saudi’s unofficial team.
It was a seed of Saudi Arabia that did bloom later on. It started the governing body of Saudi Football Saudi Arabia Football Confederation (SRFA) in 1956.
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Following, Saudi Arabia played their first international match with Lebanon, which became a tie-on on January 18, 1957, at the 2nd Pan-Arab Games in Beirut, Lebanon. Since then, Saudi Arabia has made ten appearances in AFC Asian Cup with three titles. Likewise, the Saudi team made its World Cup debut in 1994.
But, it did not qualify for FIFA World Cup and Asian Cup for a couple of decades after establishing its governing body. Besides, Saudi Arabia’s main rivals are Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, and Iraq.
Saudi Arabia at the FIFA World Cup Football
The Green Falcons is a successful team in regional football but has a poor score in the FIFA World Cup history. The Arabian team debuted at the 1994 US World cup, surpassed group stages, but was out of the round of 16.
Our Second friendly for September international window is confirmed:
— Saudi National Team (@SaudiNT_EN) June 21, 2022
We will be facing the CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions in Murcia. pic.twitter.com/7IhG2rEq0J
After that, it participated in three consecutive tournaments and out of group stage in 1998, 2002, and 2006 World Cup. Then, Saudi Arabia failed to qualify for the next two competitions (2010 and 2014) World Cup. Saudi Arabia returned to Russia World Cup in 2018 but lost all group matches and did not progress to the knockout round.
Saudi Arabia FIFA World Cup 2022 squad
In the Qatar World Cup 2022 qualifying round, Saudi Arabia topped the chart of group B slot from the Asian subcontinent region. Thus, it selected a spot for the global fair of soccer. The twenty-second edition of FIFA World Cup football is happening in Qatar from November 20- December 18, 2022.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia is a part of Group C it is quite tough to beat Argentina, Mexico, and Poland in group matches. The Green Falcons will play their first match with Argentina on November 22, 2022, at Lusail Stadium, Lusail.
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Now, the Green Falcons are on their preparation for the World Cup and during their preparation. The French manager Herve Renard and captain Salman Al-Faraj currently lead the Saudi Arabian team. Herve has been leading the Iranian squad since 2019.
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FIFA World Cup 2022 Iran National Team|History
Further, they also tour a couple of countries for friendly matches. Saudi Arabia will announce the final squad in October, but here is the list of potential players for the Qatar World Cup 2022.
- GK: Amin Bukhari (Al-Nassr)
- GK: Mohammed Al-Owais (Al-Hilal)
- GK: Fawaz Al-Qarni (Al-Shabab)
- GK: Mohammed Al Rubaie (Al-Ahli)
- DF: Hassan Tambakti (Al-Shabab)
- DF: Abdullah Madu (Al-Nassr)
- DF: Ahmed Sharahili (Al-Shabab)
- DF: Ziyad Al-Sahafi (Al-Ittihad)
- DF: Mohammed Al-Breik (Al-Hilal)
- DF: Saud Abdulhamid (Al-Hilal)
- DF: Yasser Al-Shahrani (Al-Hilal)
- DF: Abdulelah Al-Amri (Al-Nassr)
- DF: Moteb Al-Harbi (Al-Shabab)
- MF: Salman Al-Faraj (Al-Hilal)
- MF: Hattan Bahebri (Al-Shabab)
- MF: Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal)
- MF: Ali Al-Hassan (Al-Nassr)
- MF: Sami Al-Najei (Al-Nassr)
- MF: Khalid Al-Ghannam (Al-Nassr)
- MF: Abdulrahman Ghareeb (Al-Ahli)
- MF: Abdulrahman Al-Aboud (Al-Ittihad)
- MF: Abdulaziz Al-Bishi (Al-Ittihad)
- MF: Mohamed Kanno (Al-Hilal)
- MF: Fahad Al-Muwallad (Al-Ittihad)
- FW: Firas al-Buraikan (Al-Fateh)
- FW: Saleh Al-Shehri (Al-Hilal)
- FW: Abdullah Al-Hamdan (Al-Hilal)
Source: Four Four Two
Awards and Honors of the Saudi Arabia National team
• FIFA Arab Cup champions (1998 and 2002)
• AFC Asian Cup 3X winner (1984, 1988, and 1996)
• Arabian Gulf Cup champions (1994, 2002, and 2003)
• Asian Games: 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
• Pan Arab Games: 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal
• Islamic Solidarity Games (2005): Gold Medal
