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🇬🇧 EN
NATION FILE
AFC · ASIA (WEST)

SAUDI ARABIA

Al-Su'udiyah (المنتخب السعودي) · KSA · AFC
The Green FalconsAl-Akhdar (The Green One)Sons of the Desert

🌎 WORLD CUP RECORD

6
EVER-PRESENT
19
MATCHES
▲ THE HIGH
USA 1994 — reached the Round of 16 on debut, lit up by Saeed Al-Owairan's 60-yard solo goal against Belgium, voted one of the World Cup's greatest ever
▼ THE LOW
Korea/Japan 2002 — three defeats, no goals scored, and an 0–8 thrashing by Germany that remains their heaviest World Cup loss

Six World Cups before 2026 (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022); 2026 in Canada/Mexico/USA is their seventh, and they have also already qualified as co-hosts of 2034.

🏆 HONOURS CABINET

🥇
AFC ASIAN CUP
1984 · 1988 · 1996
🛡️
ARABIAN GULF CUP
1994 · 2002 · 2003–04
🛡️
ARAB CUP
1998 · 2002
THE SQUAD — OFFICIAL 26
COACH Georgios Donis · Greece · since 2026 Appointed in April 2026 after Hervé Renard was dismissed weeks before the finals; a Greek tactician with long Saudi Pro League experience (Al-Hilal, Al-Fateh, Al-Khaleej) chosen for his familiarity with the players.
CAPTAIN Salem Al-Dawsari The 34-year-old Al-Hilal winger and 2025 AFC Player of the Year — Saudi Arabia's most experienced player and scorer of the 2–1 winner over Argentina at Qatar 2022.
GOALKEEPERS
01
Nawaf Al-Aqidi
Al-Nassr
22 caps · 0 goals
21
Mohammed Al-Owais
Al-Ula
63 caps · 0 goals
22
Ahmed Al-Kassar
Al-Qadsiah
9 caps · 0 goals
DEFENDERS
02
Ali Majrashi
Al-Ahli
21 caps · 0 goals
03
Ali Lajami
Al-Hilal
21 caps · 1 goals
04
Abdulelah Al-Amri
Al-Nassr
42 caps · 1 goals
05
Hassan Al-Tambakti
Al-Hilal
51 caps · 1 goals
12
Saud Abdulhamid
Lens
54 caps · 1 goals
13
Nawaf Boushal
Al-Nassr
24 caps · 0 goals
14
Hassan Kadesh
Al-Ittihad
20 caps · 2 goals
24
Moteb Al-Harbi
Al-Hilal
12 caps · 0 goals
25
Jehad Thakri
Al-Qadsiah
7 caps · 0 goals
26
Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat
Al-Qadsiah
6 caps · 0 goals
MIDFIELDERS
06
Nasser Al-Dawsari
Al-Hilal
43 caps · 0 goals
07
Musab Al-Juwayr
Al-Qadsiah
34 caps · 6 goals
15
Abdullah Al-Khaibari
Al-Nassr
39 caps · 0 goals
16
Ziyad Al-Johani
Al-Ahli
12 caps · 0 goals
18
Alaa Al-Hejji
Neom
2 caps · 0 goals
23
Mohamed Kanno
Al-Hilal
76 caps · 8 goals
FORWARDS
08
Ayman Yahya
Al-Nassr
26 caps · 0 goals
09
Firas Al-Buraikan
Al-Ahli
69 caps · 15 goals
10
Salem Al-Dawsari C
Al-Hilal
109 caps · 27 goals
11
Saleh Al-Shehri
Al-Ittihad
55 caps · 18 goals
17
Khalid Al-Ghannam
Al-Ettifaq
6 caps · 0 goals
19
Abdullah Al-Hamdan
Al-Nassr
49 caps · 12 goals
20
Sultan Mandash
Al-Hilal
6 caps · 2 goals
★ PLAYER TO WATCH
Musab Al-Juwayr Al-Qadsiah · MF · b. 2004

The squad's bright young creator (b. 2004) — already six international goals from midfield and the most likely Falcon to spring a surprise on the bigger names of Group H.

STAR PLAYERS
STAR 10
SALEM AL-DAWSARI
Captain · Forward
STAR 09
FIRAS AL-BURAIKAN
Forward · top qualifying scorer
STAR 23
MOHAMED KANNO
Midfield anchor
★ LEGEND 21
MOHAMMED AL-OWAIS
Veteran goalkeeper · 60+ caps
★ ONE TO WATCH 07
★ THE REVELATION
MUSAB AL-JUWAYR
One to watch · b. 2004
HI-SCORE — ALL-TIME RECORDS
MOST CAPS
1Mohamed Al-Deayea178
2Mohammed Al-Khlaiwi163
3Sami Al-Jaber156
4Osama Hawsawi138
5Yasser Al-Qahtani112
6Salem Al-Dawsari109

Voted Asia's Goalkeeper of the Century; played at four World Cups and for years the most-capped men's international on the planet.

MOST GOALS
1Majed Abdullah72
2Sami Al-Jaber46
3Yasser Al-Qahtani42
4Mohammed Al-Sahlawi28
5Salem Al-Dawsari27
6Saeed Al-Owairan24

'The Arabian Jewel' — the original Green Falcon icon and still, decades on, the nation's record marksman.

RECENT LINE-UP — 4-3-3

⚠ The most-used eleven in recent matches under Georgios Donis (June 2026) — a snapshot of recent form, never a forecast.

P1 SELECT TAP A PLAYER
4-3-3
1Nawaf Al-AqidiGK
12Saud AbdulhamidRB
5Hassan Al-TambaktiCB
3Ali LajamiCB
13Nawaf BoushalLB
23Mohamed KannoDM
15Abdullah Al-KhaibariCM
7Musab Al-JuwayrCM
6Nasser Al-DawsariRW
9Firas Al-BuraikanST
10Salem Al-Dawsari CLW

The recent first-choice eleven under Georgios Donis — the gold dot is the captain. Hover or tap a glowing dot.

⭐ HALL OF FAME

PLAYERPOSERACAPSGLSFILE NOTE
Majed Abdullah #10 FW 1977–1994 117 72 'The Arabian Jewel.' Record scorer and the face of Saudi football's first golden age — a goal almost every other game.
Mohamed Al-Deayea #21 GK 1990–2006 178 0 The Wall of Asia. Record caps, four World Cups, and a century of clean sheets between the sticks.
Sami Al-Jaber #9 FW 1992–2006 156 46 Four World Cups, four times a scorer there — the captain who carried the Green Falcons across two decades.
Saeed Al-Owairan #10 FW 1990–2000 75 24 Scored THE goal — a 60-yard slalom past half of Belgium at USA '94, replayed forever as Asia's Maradona moment.
Yasser Al-Qahtani #20 FW 2002–2014 112 42 'The Sniper.' Asian Player of the Year 2007 and the spearhead of the post-golden-age side.
Mohammed Al-Khlaiwi #5 DF 1992–2001 163 3 The granite at the back of the '94 and '98 sides — a centre-half who simply refused to be passed, and Saudi Arabia's second-most-capped player of all time.
Mohammed Al-Sahlawi #11 FW 2010–2018 42 28 Bagged 16 in 2018 World Cup qualifying — a poacher who got the Falcons back to the finals after a 12-year wait.
Fuad Anwar #8 MF 1990–1998 110 22 Tireless engine of the mid-'90s — the midfielder who made the running while the strikers took the bows.
Osama Hawsawi #4 DF 2007–2018 138 4 A centurion centre-back and long-serving captain who bridged two generations of green shirts.
Khamis Al-Owairan #14 MF 1992–2002 96 12 Saeed's brother and a midfield mainstay of three World Cup squads — the other Al-Owairan, no less committed.
THE ALMANAC SPEAKS
PROF. INKSWORTH:

Asia's three-time champions and the continent's great cup-tie giant-killers: a nation that gave us Al-Owairan's slalom in '94 and felled Argentina in '22, then mostly packed for home after three group games. A squad built almost entirely in the booming Saudi league, captained by the man who beat the world champions. The history is richer than the World Cup ledger admits — and the Falcons know it.

  • Saeed Al-Owairan's 1994 goal against Belgium — a 60-yard run past half the team — is the one every Saudi child still mimes in the street. Rightly so.
  • The white kit is no accident: practical in the Riyadh heat, and a clean canvas for that palm-and-crossed-swords crest.
  • They beat the eventual world champions in 1994's group (Belgium) AND in 2022's group (Argentina). Giant-killing is practically a national pastime.
  • Twenty-five of the 26 ply their trade at home — the most domestic squad at the whole tournament. The Falcons travel light on passports.

📜 FILE TIMELINE

1956
The Saudi Arabian football federation is founded; the Green Falcons take wing.
1984
First continental crown — the Asian Cup, won in Singapore, then retained in 1988 and won again in 1996.
1994
USA. A dream debut: out of the group and into the Round of 16, with Saeed Al-Owairan's wonder-goal against Belgium.
2002
Korea/Japan. The low point — three losses, no goals, and 0–8 against Germany.
2018
Back at the World Cup after 12 years; sign off with a stoppage-time win over Egypt.
2022
Lusail. The Green Falcons stun eventual champions Argentina 2–1 — Salem Al-Dawsari's strike heard around the world.
2026
A seventh World Cup, in North America — Georgios Donis hunts a first knockout berth since 1994.
◄ scroll the ledger ►

⚽ MATCHES — 2026

Ready.
Zone: Historical