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Saudi Arabia national football team

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Saudi Arabia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)الأخضر (al-‘Akhḍar, "The Green")
الصقور الخضر (as-Suqūr al-‘Khoḍur, "Green Falcons")
الصقور العربية (as-Suqūr Al-Arabiyyah, "Arabian 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 (72)[2]
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeKSA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 49 Increase 2 (22 December 2022)[3]
Highest21 (July 2004)
Lowest126 (December 2012)
First international
 Lebanon 1–1 Saudi Arabia 
(Beirut, Lebanon; 18 January 1957)
Biggest win
 Timor-Leste 0–10 Saudi Arabia 
(Dili, Timor-Leste; 17 November 2015)
Biggest defeat
 United Arab Republic 13–0 Saudi Arabia 
(Casablanca, Morocco; 3 September 1961)
World Cup
Appearances6 (first in 1994)
Best resultRound of 16 (1994)
Asian Cup
Appearances10 (first in 1984)
Best resultChampions (1984, 1988, 1996)
Arab Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1985)
Best resultChampions (1998, 2002)
Arabian Gulf Cup
Appearances24 (first in 1970)
Best resultChampions (1994, 2002, 2003–04)
WAFF Championship
Appearances3 (first in 2012)
Best resultGroup stage (2012, 2014, 2019)
FIFA Confederations Cup
Appearances4 (first in 1992)
Best resultRunners-up (1992)
Websitesaff.sa

The Saudi Arabia national football team (Arabic: المنتخب الْعَرَبِي السُّعُودِيّ لِكُرَّةُ الْقَدَم) represents Saudi Arabia in men's international football. They are known as Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur (The Green Falcons) in reference to their traditional colours of green and white and represent both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Considered one of Asia's most successful national teams, Saudi Arabia have won the AFC Asian Cup three times (1984, 1988 and 1996), reached a joint record six Asian Cup finals and have qualified for the FIFA World Cup on six occasions since debuting at the 1994 tournament. Saudi Arabia are the first Asian team to reach the final of a senior FIFA competition at the 1992 King Fahd Cup, which would eventually become the FIFA Confederations Cup. Only Australia and Japan managed to repeat this feat in 1997 and 2001 respectively, though Australia achieved it when they were a member of the OFC.

At 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, they became the second Arab team in history to reach the round of 16 of a World Cup after Morocco at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and one of the few Asian national football teams (others being Australia, Japan, South Korea and North Korea) to accomplish such a feat to date.

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Saudi Arabia caused a large upset when they beat eventual champions Argentina 2–1, the first time Argentina lost to an Asian representative in a FIFA World Cup. However, Saudi Arabia then lost the following matches against Poland and Mexico, and were knocked out 4th in the group stage of the World Cup.

In 2027, Saudi Arabia will host the AFC Asian Cup. It will be the first time that the nation has ever hosted an Asian Cup.

Discover more about Saudi Arabia national football team related topics

Association football

Association football

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposite team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing side. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is considered the world's most popular sport.

Asian Football Confederation

Asian Football Confederation

The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach football, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in OFC, joined AFC in 2006. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, both territories of the United States, are also AFC members that are geographically in Oceania. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) was the section of AFC who managed women's association football in Asia. The group was independently founded in April 1968 in a meeting involving Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1986 ALFC merged with AFC.

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup

The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and until 2015 qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

1994 FIFA World Cup

1994 FIFA World Cup

The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988. Despite soccer's relative lack of popularity in the host nation, the tournament was the most financially successful in World Cup history. It broke tournament records with overall attendance of 3,587,538 and an average of 68,991 per game, marks that stood unsurpassed as of 2022 despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams starting with the 1998 World Cup.

1992 King Fahd Cup

1992 King Fahd Cup

The 1992 King Fahd Cup, named after Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was the first association football tournament of the competition that would later be known as the FIFA Confederations Cup. It was hosted by Saudi Arabia in October 1992, and was won by Argentina, who beat Saudi Arabia 3–1 in the final. The 1992 tournament was the only one not to feature a group stage and only featured four nations.

Australia men's national soccer team

Australia men's national soccer team

The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup

The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first Confederations Cup to be organised by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 and 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This edition of the tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia, as with the previous editions, in December 1997 and was the first to feature representatives from all of the FIFA confederations.

2001 FIFA Confederations Cup

2001 FIFA Confederations Cup

The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organised by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia, did not participate. The tournament was played from 30 May to 10 June 2001, and co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, who were also hosts for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. It was won by France, beating hosts Japan 1–0, with a goal from Patrick Vieira.

1986 FIFA World Cup

1986 FIFA World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so, and resigned in 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983, and became the first country to host the World Cup more than once, after previously hosting in 1970.

2022 FIFA World Cup

2022 FIFA World Cup

The 2022 FIFA World Cup was an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations and 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, making it the first World Cup held in the Arab world and Muslim world, and the second held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.

Argentina national football team

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.

2027 AFC Asian Cup

2027 AFC Asian Cup

The 2027 AFC Asian Cup will be the 19th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The tournament involves 24 national teams after the expansion in 2019. It will be held in Saudi Arabia.

History

Early 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 27 June 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 the same city. On 2 August, His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal organized a third friendly with the Egyptian team against Saudi Arabia 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 in April.[5]

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 18 October. Abdulmajeed Kayal scored for the Saudis while Levon Altonian netted for the home side.[6]

Debuting successes and subsequent declines

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. Since then, they reached the next four consecutive Asian Cup finals, winning two of them (1988 and 1996). They have qualified for every Asian Cup since, reaching the final in 2007.

Saudi Arabia qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 1994 under the leadership of Argentine manager Jorge Solari and talents like Saeed Al-Owairan and Sami Al-Jaber, reinforced by national veteran Majed Abdullah as team captain. Wins against Belgium and Morocco in the group stage led to a match-up against Sweden in the round of 16, a 3–1 loss. Saudi Arabia qualified for the next three World Cups, but failed to win a match in any of them; the team placed last in 2002 without scoring a goal, while conceding 12, including eight against Germany.

Revival, history written, but fall short

Saudi Arabia secured qualification for the 2018 World Cup, their first in 12 years,[7] ahead of Australia. Hosts Russia annihilated them in the opening match 5–0,[8] making this the second largest victory of any host nation at the FIFA World Cup.[9] Saudi Arabia then lost 1–0 to a Luis Suarez-led Uruguay, the eventual group winners.[10] Although they were already eliminated,[11] they managed to salvage some pride by winning their final group stage match against Red Sea neighbours Egypt.[12]

After the 2018 World Cup, Saudi Arabia participated in the 2019 Asian Cup, held in the United Arab Emirates; the team finished second in the group stage, after falling to Qatar in the final game,[13] leading to a showdown against Japan in the round of 16. The Saudis dominated the whole game, but ultimately lost 1–0 due to poor finishing.[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]

Saudi Arabia qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the first to be held in the Middle East, by topping their qualifying group and were drawn against Argentina, Poland and Mexico.[17] In the opening game of their group, they defeated a much fancied Argentina side 2–1 within just five minutes in the early of the second half with goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and the beautiful curl of Salem Al-Dawsari, ending an Argentine unbeaten streak of 36 games dating back to 2019. The Saudi King declared a Holiday after the win over Argentina and Saudi fans celebrated with mocking words against Lionel Messi, Argentine team and the other opponents.[18][19] They then lost their next match against Poland, 2–0. Piotr Zieliński broke Saudi hearts with a goal in 39th minute; Salem Al-Dawsari's penalty was saved by Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny in the first half when the score was 1–0 while Abdulellah Al-Malki made a mistake to allow Robert Lewandowski to score his first World Cup goal.[20] This made Saudi require a win against Mexico to advance to the Round of 16 regardless of the Argentina-Poland result. Facing a team that was also playing its qualification in this last game in the same Lusail Iconic Stadium, Saudi Arabia opted to play all-out attack by fielding three strikers in front, but this proved fatal as the Saudis failed to repeat their inaugural achievement and ended up losing the match 2–1 after goals from Henry Martín and Luis Chávez, conceding both goals in just a similar five minutes span (the same span Saudi Arabia shocked Argentina) in the second half.[21] As a result, Saudi Arabia finished bottom in their group and were eliminated from the 2022 World Cup in the group stages at the despair of Saudi fans, as Saudi Arabia's knockout stage waiting hurt extended to 32 years since their only successful qualification in 1994. Moreover, the defeat also nailed the coffin to West Asian football, as all three representatives from West Asia in the first World Cup in the region (Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia) were all eliminated. Still, as Argentina subsequently walked on to eventually claim the 2022 FIFA World Cup title, the shock win Saudi Arabia gained against Argentina, the only team of the tournament to have beaten the Albiceleste, was a major consolation for the country's early World Cup exit.

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Jeddah

Jeddah

Jeddah, alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda, is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and the country's commercial center. It is not known when Jeddah was founded, but Jeddah's prominence grew in 647 when the Caliph Uthman made it a travel hub serving Muslim travelers going for Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Since those times, Jeddah has served as the gateway for millions of pilgrims who have arrived in Saudi Arabia, traditionally by sea and recently by air. With a population of about 4,697,000 people as of 2021, Jeddah is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest city in Hejaz, the second-largest city in the Saudi Arabia, and the ninth-largest in the Middle East. It also serves as the administrative centre of the OIC. Jeddah Islamic Port, on the Red Sea, is the thirty-sixth largest seaport in the world and the second-largest and second-busiest seaport in the Middle East.

Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah)

Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah)

Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabian Club, simply known as Al-Ittihad and also referred to as Ittihad Jeddah, is a professional football club based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, founded in 1927. The club spent its entire history in the top flight of football in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Professional League, and is the second most decorated club in Saudi Arabia. Ittihad means "union" in Arabic.

Damascus

Damascus

Damascus is the capital of Syria, the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth holiest city in Islam. Known colloquially in Syria as aš-Šām and dubbed, poetically, the "City of Jasmine", Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world.

Football at the 1957 Pan Arab Games

Football at the 1957 Pan Arab Games

The 1957 Pan Arab Games football tournament was the 2nd edition of the Pan Arab Games men's football tournament. The football tournament was held in Beirut, Lebanon between 19–27 October 1957 as part of the 1957 Pan Arab Games.

Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As of 2014, Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Beirut has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years, and was one of Phoenicia's most prominent city states, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. The first historical mention of Beirut is found in the Amarna letters from the New Kingdom of Egypt, which date to the 14th century BC.

Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium

Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium

Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium (CCSC) is a multi-purpose stadium with a capacity of 49,500 seats, located in the Bir Hassan area of Beirut, Lebanon. The stadium, equipped with athletics facilities, is the largest in the country, and is mostly used for football matches.

Camille Chamoun

Camille Chamoun

Camille Nimr Chamoun OM, ONC was a Lebanese politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990).

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup

The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and until 2015 qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

1984 AFC Asian Cup

1984 AFC Asian Cup

The 1984 AFC Asian Cup was the 8th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Singapore between 1 December and 16 December 1984. The field of ten teams was split into two groups of five. Saudi Arabia won their first title, beating China in the final 2–0.

1988 AFC Asian Cup

1988 AFC Asian Cup

The 1988 AFC Asian Cup was the 9th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar between 2 December and 18 December 1988. Saudi Arabia defeated South Korea in the final match in Doha.

1996 AFC Asian Cup

1996 AFC Asian Cup

The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 December 1996. Saudi Arabia defeated hosts United Arab Emirates in the final match in Abu Dhabi. As the runners-up, the United Arab Emirates represented the AFC in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup as the winners Saudi Arabia had qualified automatically as host.

2007 AFC Asian Cup

2007 AFC Asian Cup

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four countries in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam; it was the first time in football history more than two countries joined host of a major continental competition and the only one to had ever taken place until the UEFA Euro 2020.

Kits and crests

Traditionally, Saudi Arabia's home kit is white with green trim, and the away kit is green with white trim (flag colors).[22]

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier Period
United Kingdom Admiral 1976–1979
West Germany Puma 1980–1984
Argentina Ágata 1984
Saudi Arabia Faisok 1985–1989
Germany Adidas 1990–1993
Saudi Arabia Shammel 1994–2000
Germany Adidas 2001–2003
France Le Coq Sportif 2004
Germany Adidas 2004–2005
Germany Puma 2006–2010
United States Nike 2011–2022
Germany Adidas 2023–present

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United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is 242,495 square kilometres (93,628 sq mi), with an estimated 2023 population of over 68 million people.

Admiral Sportswear

Admiral Sportswear

Admiral is an English sportswear brand, with a manufacturing emphasis on clothing for association football. Founded in 1914 in Leicester, Admiral is one of the oldest sports brands in the UK and was originally an undergarment brand but switched to the manufacture of apparel for sports that have included cricket, cycling and athletics, as well as football. The Admiral logo was formally registered with the trademark office on 6 September 1922. The company reached the peak of its success in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s through a series of football team sponsorships.

West Germany

West Germany

West Germany (Westdeutschland) is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 October 1990. During the Cold War, the western portion of Germany and the associated territory of West Berlin were parts of the Western Bloc. West Germany was formed as a political entity during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II, established from eleven states formed in the three Allied zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The FRG's provisional capital was the city of Bonn, and the Cold War era country is retrospectively designated as the Bonn Republic.

Puma (brand)

Puma (brand)

Puma SE, branded as PUMA, is a German multinational corporation that designs and manufactures athletic and casual footwear, apparel and accessories, which is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. Puma is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world. The company was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974). In 1924, Rudolf and his brother Adolf "Adi" Dassler had jointly formed the company Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated until they agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma.

Argentina

Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi), making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces, and one autonomous city, which is the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and a part of Antarctica.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Arab world, and the largest in Western Asia and the Middle East. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. Bahrain is an island country off its east coast. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. Its capital and largest city is Riyadh. The country is home to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam.

Germany

Germany

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south; it covers an area of 357,022 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi), with a population of around 84 million within its 16 constituent states. Germany borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.

Adidas

Adidas

Adidas AG is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which consists 8.33% stake of the football club Bayern München, and Runtastic, an Austrian fitness technology company. Adidas's revenue for 2018 was listed at €21.915 billion.

France

France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Its eighteen integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and had a total population of over 68 million as of January 2023. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre; other major urban areas include Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, and Nice.

Le Coq Sportif

Le Coq Sportif

Le Coq Sportif is a French manufacturing company of sports equipment. Founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset and located in Entzheim, the company first issued items branded with its now-famous rooster trademark in 1948. The company's name and trademark are derived from the Gallic rooster, a national symbol of France.

United States

United States

The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City.

Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$46 billion in its fiscal year 2022.

Rivalries

Saudi Arabia's main rivals are mostly from the same Persian/Arabian Gulf, notably Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Due to historical reasons, matches against Iran have been frequently followed and seen by Saudis as the most important rival. This stems from the strong hatred between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in particular in recent years due to historical enmities. Iran is leading the series by one game. Saudi Arabia has 4 wins, 6 draws, and 5 losses against Iran. It's one of 10 most heated rivalries with political influence.[23][24]

Saudi Arabia's other heated rival is Iraq. However, the rivalry only began in the 1970s. Due to the Gulf War, in which Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia's ally Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq eventually became bitter rivals fighting to salvage Arab pride.[25] The two countries since then have an up-and-down in relations, often ranged from lack of cooperation and political confrontation. Iraq almost pulled out of the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup after the country was disallowed to host the competition in a move believed to be motivated by Saudi Arabia.[26]

Outside the West Asian border, Saudi Arabia also has other rivalries with fellow Asian powerhouses like Japan, Australia and South Korea; as well as having rivalries with Arab opponents of North Africa, mostly Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

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Iran–Saudi Arabia football rivalry

Iran–Saudi Arabia football rivalry

The Iran and Saudi Arabia national football teams are sporting rivals who have played each other since 1975.

Iraq–Saudi Arabia football rivalry

Iraq–Saudi Arabia football rivalry

Iraq and Saudi Arabia are two fierce rivals of the Arab world. Their matches are often considered to be one of the most heated rivalries in the world.

Iran national football team

Iran national football team

The Iran national football team, recognised by FIFA as IR Iran, represents Iran in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI).

Iraq national football team

Iraq national football team

The Iraq national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association (IFA), the governing body for football in Iraq. Iraq's usual home venue is the Basra International Stadium.

Kuwait national football team

Kuwait national football team

The Kuwait national football team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. Kuwait made one World Cup finals appearance, in 1982, managing one point in the group stages. In the Asian Cup, Kuwait reached the final in 1976 and won the tournament in 1980.

Gulf War

Gulf War

The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and came to a close with the American-led Liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991.

21st Arabian Gulf Cup

21st Arabian Gulf Cup

The 21st Arabian Gulf Cup was the twenty-first edition of the biennial football competition. It took place in Bahrain in January 2013. The competition was originally scheduled to be hosted in the city of Basra, Iraq, but was moved to Bahrain in October 2011 to ensure that Iraq could suitably host the competition in the 22nd edition.

Japan national football team

Japan national football team

The Japan national football team , nicknamed the Samurai Blue , represents Japan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan.

Australia men's national soccer team

Australia men's national soccer team

The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).

Algeria national football team

Algeria national football team

The Algeria national football team represents Algeria in men's international football and is governed by the Algerian Football Federation. The team plays their home matches at the 5 July Stadium in Algiers and Miloud Hadefi Stadium in Oran. Algeria joined FIFA on 1 January 1964, a year and a half after gaining independence. They are the current champions of the FIFA Arab Cup.

Egypt national football team

Egypt national football team

The Egypt national football team, known colloquially as "the Pharaohs", represents Egypt in men's international football, and is governed by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), the governing body of football in Egypt. The team's historical stadium is Cairo International Stadium, although matches are sometimes played at Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria.

Morocco national football team

Morocco national football team

The Morocco national football team, nicknamed "the Atlas Lions", represents Morocco in men's international football competitions. It is controlled by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, also known as FRMF. The team's colours are red and green. The team is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Venues

Historically, Saudi Arabia played most of their home matches in King Fahd International Stadium, located in the capital Riyadh. The stadium was also where some of Saudi Arabia's most important fixtures were when the country hosted the first three King Fahd Cups (predecessor of the Confederations Cup). The stadium was also home to some of Saudi Arabia's big games in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Saudi Arabia started to diversify the use of venues from outside Riyadh in the 2000s, with the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers first round played in Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam and the second round played entirely in Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers second round against Sri Lanka and at the first fixture against Uzbekistan in the third round, Saudi Arabia played again in Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium. It was accelerated from 2010s onward as Saudi Arabia began to play frequent home fixtures in newly built King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah and Mrsool Park also in Riyadh.

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King Fahd International Stadium

King Fahd International Stadium

The King Fahd Stadium, also nicknamed "Tent Stadium" or "Pearl of Stadiums", is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches as the home of Saudi Arabia, and it also has athletics facilities.

Riyadh

Riyadh

Riyadh, formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate.

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup

The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships, along with the current FIFA World Cup holder and the host nation, to bring the number of teams up to eight.

FIFA World Cup qualification

FIFA World Cup qualification

The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup.

Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium

Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium

The Prince Mohammad bin Fahd Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. It was built in 1973 and named after Muhammad bin Fahd, former governor of the Eastern Province, and was the first football stadium in the province.

Dammam

Dammam

Dammam is the fifth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province, in addition to the administrative offices of other minor governmental departments functioning within the province, are located in the city. The word itself is generally used to refer to the city, but may also refer to its eponymous governorate.

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by architect Michael KC Cheah. It is currently used mostly for football matches. Named after Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the stadium has a capacity of 22,500 people. Al-Hilal, Al Nassr and Al-Shabab play their matches in this stadium. In 1972, It hosted the opening ceremony for the Arabian Gulf Cup. In the 2011-2012 it became one of the first stadiums in the Kingdom to use electronic ticketing for the Saudi Football League.

Sri Lanka national football team

Sri Lanka national football team

The Sri Lanka national football team represents Sri Lanka in Association football and is administered by Football Sri Lanka, the governing body of football in Sri Lanka. They have been a member of FIFA since 1952 and a member of AFC since 1954. Sri Lanka's home stadium is the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo. The Sri Lankan team was known as the Ceylon national football team until 1972 when Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka.

Uzbekistan national football team

Uzbekistan national football team

The Uzbekistan national football team represents Uzbekistan in international football and is controlled by the Uzbekistan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uzbekistan.

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round

The AFC Third Round of 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification began on 9 February 2005 and finished on 17 August 2005.

King Abdullah Sports City

King Abdullah Sports City

King Abdullah Sports City, also nicknamed The Shining Jewel or simply The Jewel, is a multi-use stadium and sports city located 30 kilometers north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The City was named after Abdullah, King of Saudi Arabia when the stadium opened.

Jeddah

Jeddah

Jeddah, alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda, is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and the country's commercial center. It is not known when Jeddah was founded, but Jeddah's prominence grew in 647 when the Caliph Uthman made it a travel hub serving Muslim travelers going for Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Since those times, Jeddah has served as the gateway for millions of pilgrims who have arrived in Saudi Arabia, traditionally by sea and recently by air. With a population of about 4,697,000 people as of 2021, Jeddah is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest city in Hejaz, the second-largest city in the Saudi Arabia, and the ninth-largest in the Middle East. It also serves as the administrative centre of the OIC. Jeddah Islamic Port, on the Red Sea, is the thirty-sixth largest seaport in the world and the second-largest and second-busiest seaport in the Middle East.

Results and fixtures

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

2022

24 March 2022 2022 W.C. Q China  1–1  Saudi Arabia Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
19:00 UTC+4
  • Zhu Chenjie 82' (pen.)
Report
Stadium: Sharjah Stadium
Attendance: 200
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)
5 June 2022 Friendly Saudi Arabia  0–1  Colombia Murcia, Spain
19:00 UTC+2 Report Borré 9' Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Jason Barcelo (Gibraltar)
9 June 2022 Friendly Saudi Arabia  0–1  Venezuela Murcia, Spain
19:00 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina
Attendance: 400
Referee: Daniel Gómez Gordillo (Gibraltar)
23 September 2022 Friendly Saudi Arabia  0–0  Ecuador Murcia, Spain
20:00 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
27 September 2022 Friendly Saudi Arabia  0–0  United States Murcia, Spain
20:00 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina
Attendance: 364
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
26 October 2022 Friendly Saudi Arabia  1–1  Albania Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
21:00 UTC+4 Al-Shehri 43' (pen.) Report Balaj 47' Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Adel Al Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
10 November 2022 Friendly Panama  1–1  Saudi Arabia Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
17:00 UTC+4
Report
Stadium: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Yahya Al Mulla (Qatar)
16 November 2022 Friendly Saudi Arabia  0–1  Croatia Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
20:00 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
Attendance: 8,287
Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)
22 November 2022 2022 World Cup GS Argentina  1–2  Saudi Arabia Lusail, Qatar
13:00 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Lusail Iconic Stadium
Attendance: 88,012
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
26 November 2022 2022 World Cup GS Poland  2–0  Saudi Arabia Al Rayyan, Qatar
16:00 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Education City Stadium
Attendance: 44,259
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)
30 November 2022 2022 World Cup GS Saudi Arabia  1–2  Mexico Lusail, Qatar
22:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Lusail Iconic Stadium
Attendance: 84,985
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)

2023

6 January 2023 25th AGC GS Yemen  0–2  Saudi Arabia Basra, Iraq
21:45 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Basra International Stadium
Referee: Salman Falahi (Qatar)
9 January 2023 25th AGC GS Saudi Arabia  0–2  Iraq Basra, Iraq
19:15 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Basra International Stadium
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
12 January 2023 25th AGC GS Saudi Arabia  1–2  Oman Basra, Iraq
18:00 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
28 March 2023 Friendly Saudi Arabia  v  Bolivia Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
22:00 UTC+3 Stadium: Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium

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Saudi Arabia national football team results (2020–present)

Saudi Arabia national football team results (2020–present)

This article provides details of international football games played by the Saudi Arabia national football team from 2020 to present.

China national football team

China national football team

The China national football team represents the People's Republic of China in international association football and is governed by the Chinese Football Association.

Sharjah

Sharjah

Sharjah is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area.

Penalty kick (association football)

Penalty kick (association football)

A penalty kick is a method of restarting play in association football, in which a player is allowed to take a single shot at the goal while it is defended only by the opposing team's goalkeeper. It is awarded when an offence punishable by a direct free kick is committed by a player in their own penalty area. The shot is taken from the penalty mark, which is 11 m from the goal line and centred between the touch lines.

Saleh Al-Shehri

Saleh Al-Shehri

Saleh Khalid Mohammed Al-Shehri is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer player who plays as a striker for Al-Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team. On 22 November 2022, Saleh scored the first goal for Saudi Arabia against Argentina at the FIFA World Cup 2022 held in Qatar.

Sharjah Stadium (football)

Sharjah Stadium (football)

Sharjah Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Sharjah FC. The stadium has a capacity of 18,000.

Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed

Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed

Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed is an Emirati football referee who has been a full international referee for FIFA since 2010.

Australia men's national soccer team

Australia men's national soccer team

The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).

Jeddah

Jeddah

Jeddah, alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda, is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and the country's commercial center. It is not known when Jeddah was founded, but Jeddah's prominence grew in 647 when the Caliph Uthman made it a travel hub serving Muslim travelers going for Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Since those times, Jeddah has served as the gateway for millions of pilgrims who have arrived in Saudi Arabia, traditionally by sea and recently by air. With a population of about 4,697,000 people as of 2021, Jeddah is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest city in Hejaz, the second-largest city in the Saudi Arabia, and the ninth-largest in the Middle East. It also serves as the administrative centre of the OIC. Jeddah Islamic Port, on the Red Sea, is the thirty-sixth largest seaport in the world and the second-largest and second-busiest seaport in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Arab world, and the largest in Western Asia and the Middle East. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. Bahrain is an island country off its east coast. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. Its capital and largest city is Riyadh. The country is home to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam.

UTC+03:00

UTC+03:00

UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours later than the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, a time with this offset would be written as, for example, 2019-02-08T23:36:06+03:00.

Salem Al-Dawsari

Salem Al-Dawsari

Salem Mohammed Shafi Al-Dawsari is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team.

Coaching staff

As of 29 July 2021[27][28]
Position Name
Head coach France Hervé Renard
Assistant coaches Saudi Arabia Mohammed Ameen
France Laurent Bonadéi
France Algeria Sofian Kheyari
Saudi Arabia Saad Al-Shehri
Goalkeeping coach France Philippe Sence
Technical director Croatia Romeo Jozak

Coaching history

Discover more about Coaching staff related topics

France

France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Its eighteen integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and had a total population of over 68 million as of January 2023. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre; other major urban areas include Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, and Nice.

Hervé Renard

Hervé Renard

Hervé Jean-Marie Roger Renard is a French professional football coach and former player who is the manager of the Saudi Arabia national team.

Mohammed Ameen

Mohammed Ameen

Mohammed Ameen Haidar is a Saudi Arabian former footballer who played as a midfielder. who is the assistant coach of the Saudi Arabia national team He was a member of the Al Ittihad team that won the 2005 AFC Champions League and the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Saudi Arabia.

Laurent Bonadéi

Laurent Bonadéi

Laurent Pierre Bonadéi, is a French football coach who is the assistant coach of the Saudi Arabia national team, under Hervé Renard, having previously coached the team during the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.

Algeria

Algeria

Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in North Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. It is considered part of the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has a semi-arid geography, with most of the population living in the fertile north and the Sahara dominating the geography of the south. Algeria covers an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), making it the world's tenth largest nation by area, and the largest nation in Africa, being more than 200 times as large as the smallest country in the continent, The Gambia. With a population of 44 million, Algeria is the tenth-most populous country in Africa, and the 32nd-most populous country in the world. The capital and largest city is Algiers, located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast.

Philippe Sence

Philippe Sence

Philippe Gaston André Sence is a French footballer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is goalkeeper coach of the Saudi Arabia national team.

Croatia

Croatia

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. Its coast lies entirely on the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Italy to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city, Zagreb, forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, with twenty counties. The country spans 56,594 square kilometres, and has a population of nearly 3.9 million.

Romeo Jozak

Romeo Jozak

Romeo Jozak is a Croatian football manager and former player who most recently managed the Kuwait national team.

Egypt

Egypt

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip of Palestine and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt, while Alexandria, the second-largest city, is an important industrial and tourist hub at the Mediterranean coast. At approximately 100 million inhabitants, Egypt is the 14th-most populated country in the world.

Abdulrahman Fawzi

Abdulrahman Fawzi

Abdelrahman Fawzy was an Egyptian professional football player and manager, who played as a centre forward.

England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

George Skinner (footballer)

George Skinner (footballer)

George Edward Henry Skinner was an English professional footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur, Northfleet United, Gillingham, Brighton & Hove Albion and Hastings United.

Players

Current squad

The following 26 players were called up for the friendlies against Venezuela and Bolivia.[29]

  • Match date: 24 & 28 March 2023
  • Opposition:  Venezuela, &  Bolivia.
  • Caps and goals are correct as of 12 January 2023, after the match against  Oman, as recognized by SAFF.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Mohammed Al-Owais (1991-10-10) 10 October 1991 (age 31) 45 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
1GK Mohammed Al-Rubaie (1997-08-14) 14 August 1997 (age 25) 7 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli
1GK Osama Al-Mermesh (2003-07-06) 6 July 2003 (age 19) 0 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad

2DF Ali Al-Bulaihi (1989-11-21) 21 November 1989 (age 33) 40 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
2DF Sultan Al-Ghannam (1994-05-06) 6 May 1994 (age 28) 27 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
2DF Saud Abdulhamid (1999-07-18) 18 July 1999 (age 23) 26 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
2DF Abdulelah Al-Amri (1997-01-15) 15 January 1997 (age 26) 23 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
2DF Hassan Al-Tambakti (1999-02-09) 9 February 1999 (age 24) 21 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab
2DF Moteb Al-Harbi (2000-02-20) 20 February 2000 (age 23) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab
2DF Ahmed Sharahili (1994-05-08) 8 May 1994 (age 28) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
2DF Zakaria Hawsawi (2001-01-12) 12 January 2001 (age 22) 1 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad

3MF Salem Al-Dawsari (1991-08-19) 19 August 1991 (age 31) 74 19 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
3MF Mohamed Kanno (1994-09-22) 22 September 1994 (age 28) 41 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
3MF Abdulaziz Al-Bishi (1994-03-11) 11 March 1994 (age 29) 19 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
3MF Abdulrahman Ghareeb (1997-03-31) 31 March 1997 (age 25) 15 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
3MF Abdullah Al-Khaibari (1996-08-16) 16 August 1996 (age 26) 12 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
3MF Nasser Al-Dawsari (1998-12-19) 19 December 1998 (age 24) 11 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
3MF Riyadh Sharahili (1993-04-28) 28 April 1993 (age 29) 9 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab
3MF Abdulrahman Al-Aboud (1995-06-01) 1 June 1995 (age 27) 5 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
3MF Hussain Al-Qahtani (1994-12-20) 20 December 1994 (age 28) 0 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab
3MF Fahad Al-Rashidi (1997-05-16) 16 May 1997 (age 25) 0 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Taawoun

4FW Firas Al-Buraikan (2000-05-14) 14 May 2000 (age 22) 30 6 Saudi Arabia Al-Fateh
4FW Saleh Al-Shehri (1993-11-01) 1 November 1993 (age 29) 23 11 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
4FW Abdullah Al-Hamdan (1999-09-13) 13 September 1999 (age 23) 22 5 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
4FW Haroune Camara (1998-01-31) 31 January 1998 (age 25) 10 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
4FW Haitham Asiri (2001-03-25) 25 March 2001 (age 21) 9 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli

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 Nawaf Al-Aqidi (2000-05-10) 10 May 2000 (age 22) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr v.  Venezuela, 24 March 2023 INJ
GK Mohammed Al-Absi (2002-09-24) 24 September 2002 (age 20) 0 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
GK Abdulbassit Hawsawi (1996-12-12) 12 December 1996 (age 26) 0 0 Saudi Arabia Damac 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
GK Fawaz Al-Qarni (1992-04-02) 2 April 1992 (age 30) 10 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 2022 FIFA World Cup INJ
GK Amin Bukhari (1997-05-02) 2 May 1997 (age 25) 0 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 2022 FIFA World Cup PRE

DF Ziyad Al-Sahafi (1994-02-03) 3 February 1994 (age 29) 15 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Taawoun 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
DF Ahmed Bamsaud (1995-11-22) 22 November 1995 (age 27) 6 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
DF Madallah Al-Olayan (1994-08-25) 25 August 1994 (age 28) 4 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
DF Qassem Lajami (1996-04-24) 24 April 1996 (age 26) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Fateh 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
DF Meshal Al-Sebyani (2001-04-11) 11 April 2001 (age 21) 2 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Faisaly 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
DF Hussain Al-Sibyani (2001-06-24) 24 June 2001 (age 21) 1 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
DF Rayane Hamidou (2002-04-13) 13 April 2002 (age 20) 0 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
DF Yasser Al-Shahrani (1992-05-25) 25 May 1992 (age 30) 73 2 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 2022 FIFA World Cup
DF Mohammed Al-Breik (1992-09-15) 15 September 1992 (age 30) 42 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 2022 FIFA World Cup
DF Abdullah Madu (1993-07-15) 15 July 1993 (age 29) 16 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 2022 FIFA World Cup
DF Ali Lajami (1996-04-24) 24 April 1996 (age 26) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr v.  Venezuela, 9 June 2022

MF Sami Al-Najei (1997-02-07) 7 February 1997 (age 26) 18 2 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr v.  Venezuela, 24 March 2023 INJ
MF Turki Al-Ammar (1999-09-23) 23 September 1999 (age 23) 9 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Musab Al-Juwayr (2003-06-20) 20 June 2003 (age 19) 3 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Sumayhan Al-Nabit (1996-03-27) 27 March 1996 (age 26) 3 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Taawoun 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Awad Al-Nashri (2002-03-15) 15 March 2002 (age 21) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Saad Al-Nasser (2001-01-08) 8 January 2001 (age 22) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Taawoun 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Naif Masoud (2001-03-08) 8 March 2001 (age 22) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Qadsiah 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Mohammed Aboulshamat (2002-08-11) 11 August 2002 (age 20) 2 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Qadsiah 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Ahmed Al-Ghamdi (2001-09-20) 20 September 2001 (age 21) 2 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ettifaq 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Hussain Al-Eisa (2000-12-29) 29 December 2000 (age 22) 1 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Wehda 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Faisal Al-Ghamdi (2001-08-13) 13 August 2001 (age 21) 1 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ettifaq 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
MF Salman Al-Faraj (1989-08-01) 1 August 1989 (age 33) 71 8 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 2022 FIFA World Cup
MF Nawaf Al-Abed (1990-01-26) 26 January 1990 (age 33) 57 8 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 2022 FIFA World Cup
MF Abdullah Otayf (1992-08-03) 3 August 1992 (age 30) 45 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 2022 FIFA World Cup
MF Hattan Bahebri (1992-07-16) 16 July 1992 (age 30) 43 4 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 2022 FIFA World Cup
MF Abdulellah Al-Malki (1994-10-11) 11 October 1994 (age 28) 29 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 2022 FIFA World Cup
MF Ali Al-Hassan (1997-03-04) 4 March 1997 (age 26) 14 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 2022 FIFA World Cup
MF Fahad Al-Muwallad (1994-09-14) 14 September 1994 (age 28) 74 17 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 2022 FIFA World Cup SUS
MF Ayman Yahya (2001-05-14) 14 May 2001 (age 21) 10 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 2022 FIFA World Cup PRE
MF Khalid Al-Ghannam (2000-11-07) 7 November 2000 (age 22) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Fateh v.  Venezuela, 9 June 2022

FW Mohammed Maran (2001-02-15) 15 February 2001 (age 22) 3 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
FW Raed Al-Ghamdi (1994-05-06) 6 May 1994 (age 28) 2 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Raed 25th Arabian Gulf Cup
FW Abdullah Radif (2003-01-20) 20 January 2003 (age 20) 5 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Taawoun 2022 FIFA World Cup PRE

  • COV Player withdrew from the squad due to contracting COVID-19.
  • INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
  • PRE Preliminary squad.
  • RET Retired from the national team.
  • SUS Player is serving a suspension.
  • WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Discover more about Players related topics

Exhibition game

Exhibition game

An exhibition game is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or the team's rankings is either zero or otherwise greatly reduced. In team sports, matches of this type are often used to help coaches and managers select and condition players for the competitive matches of a league season or tournament. If the players usually play in different teams in other leagues, exhibition games offer an opportunity for the players to learn to work with each other. The games can be held between separate teams or between parts of the same team.

Venezuela national football team

Venezuela national football team

The Venezuela national football team represents Venezuela in men's international football and is controlled by the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF), the governing body for football in Venezuela. They are nicknamed La Vinotinto because of the traditional burgundy color of their shirts. When playing at home in official games, they usually rotate between three stadiums: The Polideportivo Cachamay in Puerto Ordaz, the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz and the Estadio Pueblo Nuevo in San Cristóbal. In friendly matches, they tend to rotate between the rest of the stadiums in the country.

Bolivia national football team

Bolivia national football team

The Bolivia national football team, also known as La Verde, has represented Bolivia in international football since 1926. Organized by the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF), it is one of the ten members of FIFA's South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).

Oman national football team

Oman national football team

The Oman national football team represents Oman in men's international football and is controlled by the Oman Football Association. Although the team was officially founded in 1978, the squad was formed some time before that and a proper football association was formed only in December 2005.

Saudi Arabian Football Federation

Saudi Arabian Football Federation

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The founder of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is Prince Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud.

Goalkeeper (association football)

Goalkeeper (association football)

The goalkeeper is a position in association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport. The goalkeeper's main role is to stop the opposing team from scoring. This is accomplished by having the goalkeeper move into the trajectory of the ball to either catch it or direct it further from the vicinity of the goal line. Within the penalty area goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands, giving them the sole rights on the field to handle the ball. The goalkeeper is indicated by wearing a different coloured kit from their teammates and opposition.

Mohammed Al-Owais

Mohammed Al-Owais

Mohammed Khalil Ibrahim Al-Owais is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Al-Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team. He is known for his fast reflexes and vigilance in goal.

Al Hilal SFC

Al Hilal SFC

Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club, simply known as Al-Hilal, is a professional multi-sports club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their football team competes in the Saudi Professional League. They are the most decorated club in Asia winning 65 official trophies. They also hold the record for the most continental trophies in Asia, as well as a record 18 Professional League titles.

Mohammed Al-Rubaie

Mohammed Al-Rubaie

Mohammed Faraj Saeed Al-Rubaie Al-Yami, simply known as Mohammed Al-Rubaie or Mohammed Al-Yami, is a Saudi Arabian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Al-Ahli.

Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah)

Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah)

Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabian Club, simply known as Al-Ittihad and also referred to as Ittihad Jeddah, is a professional football club based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, founded in 1927. The club spent its entire history in the top flight of football in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Professional League, and is the second most decorated club in Saudi Arabia. Ittihad means "union" in Arabic.

Defender (association football)

Defender (association football)

In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.

Ali Al-Bulaihi

Ali Al-Bulaihi

Ali Hadi Mohammed Al-Bulaihi is a Saudi football player who plays as a defender for Saudi Professional League club Al-Hilal, and for the Saudi Arabia national football team.

Player records

As of 20 November 2018[30]
Players in bold are still active with Saudi Arabia.

Most appearances

Mohamed Al-Deayea is Saudi Arabia's most capped player with 178 appearances.
Mohamed Al-Deayea is Saudi Arabia's most capped player with 178 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Mohamed Al-Deayea 178[1] 0 1993–2006
2 Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi 163 3 1990–2001
3 Sami Al-Jaber 156 46 1992–2006
4 Abdullah Zubromawi 142 3 1993–2002
5 Osama Hawsawi 138 7 2006–2018
Hussein Abdulghani 138 5 1996–2018
7 Taisir Al-Jassim 134 19 2004–2018
8 Saud Kariri 133 7 2001–2015
9 Mohamed Abd Al-Jawad 121 7 1981–1994
10 Mohammad Al-Shalhoub 118 19 2000–2018

Top goalscorers

Majed Abdullah is Saudi Arabia's top scorer with 72 goals.
Majed Abdullah is Saudi Arabia's top scorer with 72 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Majed Abdullah 72 116 0.61 1978–1994
2 Sami Al-Jaber 46 156 0.29 1992–2006
3 Yasser Al-Qahtani 42 108 0.39 2002–2013
4 Obeid Al-Dosari 41 94 0.44 1994–2002
5 Talal Al-Meshal 32 60 0.53 1998–2006
6 Mohammad Al-Sahlawi 28 42 0.67 2010–2018
Khaled Al-Muwallid 28 114 0.25 1988–1998
8 Hamzah Idris 26 66 0.39 1992–2000
Fahad Al-Mehallel 26 87 0.3 1992–1999
10 Saeed Al-Owairan 24 75 0.32 1992–1998
Ibrahim Al-Shahrani 24 86 0.28 1997–2005

Discover more about Player records related topics

Mohamed Al-Deayea

Mohamed Al-Deayea

Mohamed Abdullaziz Al-Deayea is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a football goalkeeper. He participated in four FIFA World Cups for the Saudi Arabia national team and earned a total of 173 officially recognized caps, the record for a goalkeeper.

Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi

Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi

Mohammed Saleh Al-Khilaiwi was a Saudi football defender from Saudi Arabia. At the club level, he played mostly for Al-Ittihad in his home country.

Sami Al-Jaber

Sami Al-Jaber

Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber is a Saudi Arabian football manager and former professional player who played as a striker. He spent the entirety of his career with Al-Hilal apart from a five-month loan to English club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Osama Hawsawi

Osama Hawsawi

Osama Hawsawi is a retired Saudi Arabian footballer who played as a central defender.

Hussein Abdulghani

Hussein Abdulghani

Hussein Omar Abdulghani Sulaimani is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a left-back in the Saudi Professional League.

Saud Kariri

Saud Kariri

Saud Ali Kariri is a Saudi Arabian former footballer who played as a midfielder, and who previously played with Al Ittihad. He also previously played for Al-Qadisiyah the team that introduced most of Saudi football stars.

Mohamed Abd Al-Jawad

Mohamed Abd Al-Jawad

Mohamed Abd Al-Jawad is former Saudi Arabian football defender. His nickname is flying wing. Mário Zagallo gave him his number 13 in Saudi national team while he was training Saudi National team, Al-Jawad played with Saudi national team from 1980 to 1994 and played for Al-Ahli from 1978 to 1995. Now works as an agent for football (soccer) players.

Mohammad Al-Shalhoub

Mohammad Al-Shalhoub

Mohammad Bandar Al-Shalhoub is a Saudi Arabian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder for Al Hilal in the Saudi Professional League. A legend of Saudi football, he won 33 trophies with Al Hilal and one title with the Saudi Arabia national team, making him one of the most decorated footballers of all time.

Majed Abdullah

Majed Abdullah

Majed Ahmed Abdullah is a Saudi Arabian former footballer who played for Al-Nassr and the Saudi national team. Abdullah is the all-time leading goalscorer for Saudi Arabia with 72 goals in 117 games. At club level, he is the record goalscorer for Al-Nassr and is the all-time top scorer of the Saudi Professional League. He was often referred to by his nickname "Arabian Jewel".

Obeid Al-Dosari

Obeid Al-Dosari

Obeid Al-Dosari is retired a Saudi Arabian football player who played most of his career for Al Wahda and Al Ahli.

Mohammad Al-Sahlawi

Mohammad Al-Sahlawi

Mohammad Ibrahim Mohammad Al-Sahlawi is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Al-Sahlawi won the best player of the league twice in a row in 2013–14 and 2014–15.

Hamzah Idris

Hamzah Idris

Hamzah Idris Falatah is a Saudi Arabian footballer. He played as a striker for Ohud from 1992 to 1995 and then for Al Ittihad until he retired in 2007.

Competitive record

Saudi players warm-up before their match against Ukraine during the 2006 FIFA World Cup (19 June 2006)
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.
Saudi Arabia players before the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening fixture, against hosts Russia in Group A.
*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.

  Champion    Runners-up    Third place  

Overview
Event 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place
FIFA Confederations Cup 0 1 0
FIFA Arab Cup 2 1 1
AFC Asian Cup 3 3 0
Arabian Gulf Cup 3 7 8
Asian Games 0 1 1
Pan Arab Games 0 1 1
Total 8 14 11

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Result Position M W D L GF GA M W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Not a FIFA member No qualification
Italy 1934 Not a FIFA member
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958 Did not enter Did not enter
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978 Did not qualify 4 1 0 3 3 7
Spain 1982 10 4 1 5 9 16
Mexico 1986 2 0 1 1 0 1
Italy 1990 9 4 3 2 11 9
United States 1994 Round of 16 12th 4 2 0 2 5 6 11 6 5 0 28 7
France 1998 Group stage 28th 3 0 1 2 2 7 14 9 3 2 26 7
South Korea Japan 2002 32nd 3 0 0 3 0 12 14 11 2 1 47 8
Germany 2006 28th 3 0 1 2 2 7 12 10 2 0 24 2
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify 16 8 5 3 25 15
Brazil 2014 8 3 3 2 14 7
Russia 2018 Group stage 26th 3 1 0 2 2 7 18 12 3 3 45 14
Qatar 2022 25th 3 1 0 2 3 5 18 13 4 1 34 10
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total Round of 16 6/22 19 4 2 13 14 44 136 81 32 23 266 103

AFC Asian Cup

The Final of the 1984 AFC Asian Cup, against China. Saudi Arabia won their first AFC Asian Cup in their first entry to the competition.
The Final of the 1984 AFC Asian Cup, against China. Saudi Arabia won their first AFC Asian Cup in their first entry to the competition.
AFC Asian Cup record AFC Asian Cup qualification record
Year Result Position M W D L GF GA M W D L GF GA
Hong Kong 1956 Not an AFC member Not an AFC member
South Korea 1960
Israel 1964
Iran 1968
Thailand 1972
Iran 1976 Withdrew 6 3 1 2 12 5
Kuwait 1980 Withdrew
Singapore 1984 Champions 1st 6 3 3 0 7 3 4 4 0 0 19 0
Qatar 1988 Champions 1st 6 3 3 0 5 1 Automatic qualification as champions
Japan 1992 Runners-up 2nd 5 2 2 1 8 3 Automatic qualification as champions
United Arab Emirates 1996 Champions 1st 6 3 2 1 11 6 4 4 0 0 10 0
Lebanon 2000 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 1 2 11 8 Automatic qualification as champions
China 2004 Group stage 13th 3 0 1 2 3 5 6 6 0 0 31 1
Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Vietnam 2007 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 12 6 6 5 0 1 21 4
Qatar 2011 Group stage 15th 3 0 0 3 1 8 Automatic qualification as runners-up
Australia 2015 10th 3 1 0 2 5 5 6 5 1 0 9 3
United Arab Emirates 2019 Round of 16 12th 4 2 0 2 6 3 8 6 2 0 28 4
Qatar 2023 Qualified 8 6 2 0 22 4
Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualified as host To be determined
Total 3 Titles 12/19 48 21 13 14 69 48 48 39 6 3 152 21

FIFA Arab Cup

FIFA Arab Cup record
Year Result M W D L GF GA
Lebanon 1963 Did not enter
Kuwait 1964
Iraq 1966
Saudi Arabia 1985 Third place 4 2 1 1 7 3
Jordan 1988 Group stage 4 0 2 2 1 4
Syria 1992 Runners-up 4 2 1 1 7 5
Qatar 1998 Champions 4 4 0 0 12 3
Kuwait 2002 Champions 6 5 1 0 11 3
2009 Cancelled
Saudi Arabia 2012 Fourth place 4 1 1 2 6 5
Qatar 2021 Group stage 3 0 1 2 1 3
Total 7/10 29 14 7 8 45 26

West Asian Football Federation Championship

WAFF Championship record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
Jordan 2000 Did not participate
Syria 2002
Iran 2004
Jordan 2007
Iran 2008
Jordan 2010
Kuwait 2012 Group stage 3 1 1 1 1 1
Qatar 2014 2 0 1 1 1 4
Iraq 2019 3 0 1 2 1 5
United Arab Emirates 2023 Qualified
Total 4/10 8 1 3 4 3 10

Gulf Cup

Gulf Cup record
Year Result Position M W D L GF GA
Bahrain 1970 Third place 3rd 3 0 2 1 2 4
Saudi Arabia 1972 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 1 0 10 2
Kuwait 1974 Runners-up 2nd 4 3 0 1 9 6
Qatar 1976 Group stage 5th 6 2 0 4 8 14
Iraq 1979 Third place 3rd 6 3 2 1 14 4
United Arab Emirates 1982 Group stage 4th 5 2 1 2 6 4
Oman 1984 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 9 8
Bahrain 1986 Third place 3rd 6 3 0 3 9 9
Saudi Arabia 1988 Third place 3rd 6 2 3 1 5 4
Kuwait 1990 Withdrew
Qatar 1992 Third place 3rd 5 3 0 2 6 4
United Arab Emirates 1994 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 10 4
Oman 1996 Third place 3rd 5 2 2 1 8 6
Bahrain 1998 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 2 0 5 2
Saudi Arabia 2002 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 10 3
Kuwait 2003–04 Champions 1st 6 4 2 0 8 2
Qatar 2004 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 4 5
United Arab Emirates 2007 Third place 3rd 4 2 1 1 4 3
Oman 2009 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 2 0 10 0
Yemen 2010 Runners-up 2nd 5 2 2 1 6 2
Bahrain 2013 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 2 3
Saudi Arabia 2014 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 9 5
Kuwait 2017–18 Group stage 6th 3 1 1 1 2 3
Qatar 2019 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 0 2 7 5
Iraq 2023 Group stage 6th 3 1 0 2 3 4
Total 3 Titles 24/25 112 57 25 30 166 106

Pan Arab Games

Pan Arab Games record
Year Result M W D L GF GA
Egypt 1953 Did not enter
Lebanon 1957 Group stage 3 1 1 1 4 3
Morocco 1961 Round robin 5 1 0 4 4 38
United Arab Republic 1965 Did not enter
Syria 1976 Runners-up 6 3 1 2 9 4
Morocco 1985 Fourth place 4 3 0 1 6 3
Lebanon 1997 Did not enter
Jordan 1999 First round 2 0 1 1 2 3
Egypt 2007 Third place 4 1 1 2 5 5
Qatar 2011 First round 2 0 1 1 0 2
Total 7/10 26 9 5 12 31 58

Asian Games

Asian Games record
Year Round Position M W D L GF GA
India 1951 Did not enter
Philippines 1954
Japan 1958
Indonesia 1962
Thailand 1966
Thailand 1970
Iran 1974
Thailand 1978 Group stage 10th 3 0 2 1 3 4
India 1982 Semi-final Third place 6 3 2 1 7 4
South Korea 1986 Final Runners-up 6 3 2 1 9 6
China 1990 Quarterfinals 5th 3 2 1 0 6 0
Japan 1994 Quarterfinals 5th 5 3 0 2 9 10
Thailand 1998 Did not enter
2002–present See Saudi Arabia national under-23 football team
Total Final 5/13 23 11 7 5 34 24

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Saudi Arabia 1992 Runners-up 2nd 2 1 0 1 4 3
Saudi Arabia 1995 Group stage 5th 2 0 0 2 0 4
Saudi Arabia 1997 7th 3 1 0 2 1 8
Mexico 1999 Fourth place 4th 5 1 1 3 8 16
South Korea Japan 2001 Did not qualify
France 2003
Germany 2005
South Africa 2009
Brazil 2013
Russia 2017
Total Runners-up 4/11 12 3 1 8 13 31

Discover more about Competitive record related topics

2006 FIFA World Cup

2006 FIFA World Cup

The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process along with hosts Germany for the finals tournament. It was the second time that Germany staged the competition and the first as a unified country along with the former East Germany with Leipzig as a host city, and the 10th time that the tournament was held in Europe.

2018 FIFA World Cup

2018 FIFA World Cup

The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2010. It was the eleventh time the championships had been held in Europe, and the first time they were held in Eastern Europe. At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion, it was the most expensive World Cup ever held until it was surpassed by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

2018 FIFA World Cup Group A

2018 FIFA World Cup Group A

Group A of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place from 14 to 25 June 2018. The group consisted of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Uruguay. The top two teams, Uruguay and Russia, advanced to the round of 16.

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup

The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships, along with the current FIFA World Cup holder and the host nation, to bring the number of teams up to eight.

FIFA Arab Cup

FIFA Arab Cup

The FIFA Arab Cup, or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), the sport's governing body for countries in the Arab world. The current champion is Algeria, which won its first title at the 2021 tournament in Qatar.

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup

The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and until 2015 qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Arabian Gulf Cup

Arabian Gulf Cup

The Arabian Gulf Cup, often referred to simply as the Gulf Cup, is a biennial football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member nations. The history of the competition has also seen it held every three to four years due to political or organisational problems. The reigning champions are Iraq, having won their fourth title at the 25th edition, as hosts, held in 2023.

Football at the Asian Games

Football at the Asian Games

The men's football tournament has been a regular Asian Games sporting event since the 1951 edition, while the women's tournament began in 1990.

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 tournament.

FIFA World Cup qualification

FIFA World Cup qualification

The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup.

1930 FIFA World Cup

1930 FIFA World Cup

The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as the host nation, as the country would be celebrating the centenary of its first constitution and the Uruguay national football team had successfully retained their football title at the 1928 Summer Olympics. All matches were played in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, the majority at the Estadio Centenario, which was built for the tournament.

1934 FIFA World Cup

1934 FIFA World Cup

The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.

All-time results

The following table shows Saudi Arabia's all-time international record, correct as of 12 January 2023.

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA
Total 711 335 159 207 1071 751

Honours

International

Continental

Regional

Other

Discover more about Honours related topics

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup

The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships, along with the current FIFA World Cup holder and the host nation, to bring the number of teams up to eight.

1992 King Fahd Cup

1992 King Fahd Cup

The 1992 King Fahd Cup, named after Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was the first association football tournament of the competition that would later be known as the FIFA Confederations Cup. It was hosted by Saudi Arabia in October 1992, and was won by Argentina, who beat Saudi Arabia 3–1 in the final. The 1992 tournament was the only one not to feature a group stage and only featured four nations.

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup

The 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fourth FIFA Confederations Cup, and the second organised by FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Mexico between 24 July and 4 August 1999.

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup

The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and until 2015 qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

1984 AFC Asian Cup

1984 AFC Asian Cup

The 1984 AFC Asian Cup was the 8th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Singapore between 1 December and 16 December 1984. The field of ten teams was split into two groups of five. Saudi Arabia won their first title, beating China in the final 2–0.

1988 AFC Asian Cup

1988 AFC Asian Cup

The 1988 AFC Asian Cup was the 9th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar between 2 December and 18 December 1988. Saudi Arabia defeated South Korea in the final match in Doha.

1996 AFC Asian Cup

1996 AFC Asian Cup

The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 December 1996. Saudi Arabia defeated hosts United Arab Emirates in the final match in Abu Dhabi. As the runners-up, the United Arab Emirates represented the AFC in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup as the winners Saudi Arabia had qualified automatically as host.

1992 AFC Asian Cup

1992 AFC Asian Cup

The 1992 AFC Asian Cup was the 10th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan between 29 October and 8 November 1992. The host nation, Japan, defeated the defending champion Saudi Arabia in the final in Hiroshima.

2000 AFC Asian Cup

2000 AFC Asian Cup

The 2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Lebanon between 12 and 29 October 2000. Japan defeated defending champion Saudi Arabia in the final match in Beirut.

2007 AFC Asian Cup

2007 AFC Asian Cup

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four countries in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam; it was the first time in football history more than two countries joined host of a major continental competition and the only one to had ever taken place until the UEFA Euro 2020.

Arabian Gulf Cup

Arabian Gulf Cup

The Arabian Gulf Cup, often referred to simply as the Gulf Cup, is a biennial football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member nations. The history of the competition has also seen it held every three to four years due to political or organisational problems. The reigning champions are Iraq, having won their fourth title at the 25th edition, as hosts, held in 2023.

16th Arabian Gulf Cup

16th Arabian Gulf Cup

The 16th Arabian Gulf Cup was held in Kuwait, between 26 December 2003 to 11 January 2004. All matches were played Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium. Yemen made their debut in the Arabian Gulf Cup.

Titles

AFC Asian Cup

Preceded by Asian Cup Champions
1984 (First title)
1988 (Second title)
Succeeded by
Preceded by Asian Cup Champions
1996 (Third title)
Succeeded by

FIFA Arab Cup

Preceded by Arab Cup Champions
1998 (First title)
2002 (Second title)
Succeeded by

Arabian Gulf Cup

Preceded by Gulf Cup Champions
1994 (First title)
Succeeded by
Preceded by Gulf Cup Champions
2002 (Second title)
2003–04 (Third title)
Succeeded by

Discover more about Titles related topics

1980 AFC Asian Cup

1980 AFC Asian Cup

The 1980 AFC Asian Cup was the 7th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Kuwait between 15 and 30 September 1980. The field of ten teams was split into two groups of five. Kuwait won their first championship, beating South Korea in the final 3–0.

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup

The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and until 2015 qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

1984 AFC Asian Cup

1984 AFC Asian Cup

The 1984 AFC Asian Cup was the 8th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Singapore between 1 December and 16 December 1984. The field of ten teams was split into two groups of five. Saudi Arabia won their first title, beating China in the final 2–0.

1988 AFC Asian Cup

1988 AFC Asian Cup

The 1988 AFC Asian Cup was the 9th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar between 2 December and 18 December 1988. Saudi Arabia defeated South Korea in the final match in Doha.

1992 AFC Asian Cup

1992 AFC Asian Cup

The 1992 AFC Asian Cup was the 10th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan between 29 October and 8 November 1992. The host nation, Japan, defeated the defending champion Saudi Arabia in the final in Hiroshima.

1996 AFC Asian Cup

1996 AFC Asian Cup

The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 December 1996. Saudi Arabia defeated hosts United Arab Emirates in the final match in Abu Dhabi. As the runners-up, the United Arab Emirates represented the AFC in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup as the winners Saudi Arabia had qualified automatically as host.

2000 AFC Asian Cup

2000 AFC Asian Cup

The 2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Lebanon between 12 and 29 October 2000. Japan defeated defending champion Saudi Arabia in the final match in Beirut.

1992 Arab Cup

1992 Arab Cup

The 1992 Arab Cup is the sixth edition of the Arab Cup and also counted as the seventh edition of the 1992 Pan Arab Games football tournament, hosted by Syria, in 2 Provinces Aleppo and Damascus. Egypt won their first title of the Arab Cup and their third gold medal of the Pan Arab Games by beating Saudi Arabia in the final.

Egypt national football team

Egypt national football team

The Egypt national football team, known colloquially as "the Pharaohs", represents Egypt in men's international football, and is governed by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), the governing body of football in Egypt. The team's historical stadium is Cairo International Stadium, although matches are sometimes played at Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria.

1998 Arab Cup

1998 Arab Cup

The 1998 Arab Cup is the seventh edition of the Arab Cup hosted by Qatar, in Doha. Saudi Arabia won their first title.

2002 Arab Cup

2002 Arab Cup

The 2002 Arab Cup was the eighth edition of the Arab Cup football competition, hosted in the nation of Kuwait. Saudi Arabia, who were the defending champions from the last Arab Cup, again won the title for a 2nd time at the conclusion of the competition.

2012 Arab Cup

2012 Arab Cup

The 2012 Arab Cup was the ninth edition of the Arab Cup for national football teams affiliated with the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA).

Source: "Saudi Arabia national football team", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 21st), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia_national_football_team.

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Notes
  1. ^ The assistant coach, Laurent Bonadéi took charge of the national team temporarily for the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.
  2. ^ The assistant coach, Saad Al-Shehri took charge of the national team temporarily for the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup.
References
  1. ^ a b "FIFA Century Club" (PDF). Fifa.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Majed Abdullah". RSSSF.
  3. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  4. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  5. ^ "1953.. أول بعثة رياضية إلى الخارج" (in Arabic).
  6. ^ "Saudi Arabia - History".
  7. ^ "Saudi Arabia reaches World Cup finals with dramatic win over Japan". Arab News. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  8. ^ Fletcher, Paul (14 June 2018). "World Cup 2018: Russia thrash Saudi Arabia 5-0 in tournament". BBC Sport. Moscow: BBC. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  9. ^ Bond, George (20 June 2018). "Are Saudi Arabia the worst team ever at a World Cup?". Talksport. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
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