Saudi Arabia World Cup Team 2022

According to bookmakers and fans, the Saudis are considered clear outsiders of the group and the World Cup as a whole. They have reason to believe so - unlike the geographical neighbor of Qatar, Saudi Arabia has long been playing at a major international level, but the team has not been able to achieve progress over time with the success of the 90s. Following the example of a neighbor, all Saudi football players play in the local league, but the team has no development plan and real evidence of success in football.

The 54-year-old French specialist Herve Renard heads the Saudi Arabia national team at the World Cup. The coach has no success in his club career, but with the national teams - he twice won the African Cup of Nations with Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire. And with the Moroccan national team, he was able to reach the Fifa World Cup in Russia for the first time in 20 years, but did not go further. Renard led the Saudis in 2019, the local leadership saw the excellent results of the Frenchman with not the strongest teams and decided to bet on him. And in general, they did not fail, Renard was able to bring the Saudi Arabian national team to the 2022 World Cup in neighboring Qatar.

Leaders and stars of Saudi Arabia national football team

The national team consists entirely of representatives of the local league. The difference from the Qatari example is that many former stars from Europe play in the Saudi Premier League, they come there to finish the game. But this hardly helps local football players to develop their level. Salim al-Dawsari and Al-Faraj, who scored goals at the last World Cup against the Egyptian national team, brought the first world championship victory in many years, should be singled out among the leaders of the team.

Our World Cup Prediction at the request of the Saudi Arabia national team is based on the players’ past performances in the local league season.

Al-Dawsari is the main hope of the Saudis in the attack. He is known for one match for the Spanish Villarreal, but after a trip abroad he quickly returned to his homeland, to Al-Hilal. For the bright manner of playing, he is called the Arab Neymar, his technique for an Asian football player is really on the level. The second one is reliable in the World Cup 2022 matches of the Saudi Arabia national team - Fahad Al-Muwallad, who, after an unsuccessful World Cup in Russia, was accused of «lack of will». He was very famous from the age of 6, he was followed by the scouts of Barcelona, ​​but after growing up, all the news came to naught. Al-Muwallad is considered one of the fastest footballers in Asia.

In the center of the field, the most expensive footballer at the moment, Sultan Al-Ghanam, stands out. Its characteristic feature is the efficiency and accuracy of transmissions, it is a local analogue of Xavi.

History of the Saudi Arabia national team at the World Cups

Desert Eagles go to the main tournament of the four years for the sixth time. Their best result was the ⅛ final in 1994. Then the team won as many as 2 victories in the group and did not let the Russian team with the record holder Salenko into the playoffs. In the first stage, the Saudis lost to the Swedes with a score of 3:1. In 2002, Saudi Arabia suffered the biggest defeat in World Cup history, losing to Germany 0-8.

How did the Saudis qualify for the World Cup in Qatar?

Renard’s team quite unexpectedly won their qualifying group B in the AFC Asian zone. They were ahead of Japan with 23 points in 10 matches. The goal difference is 12:6, with al-Shehri and al-Buraikan scoring the most goals in the selection.

Qatar squad at the 2022 World Cup: group, opponents, predictions

In group C, the teams of Argentina, Poland and Mexico became rivals of the Desert Eagles team under the leadership of Herme Renard. It is obvious that the composition of the Saudi Arabia national team and the level of their skill will not allow them to take a place higher than 3rd. With the weakened not the most powerful generation of the Mexican national team, the Saudis will have a chance to compete through a well-coordinated defense. But few people expect more than 1 point from them. The tournament table of the 2022 World Cup in group C, according to our forecast, will look like this: Argentina, Poland, Mexico, Saudi Arabia.