The Saudi Arabia national football team (SAFF) (Arabic: منتخب السُّعُودِيّة لِكُرَّةُ الْقَدَم) represents Saudi Arabia in men's international football. They are known as Al-Suqour Al-Arabiyyah (Arabian Falcons) and sometimes Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur (The Green Falcons), a 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 seven 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 FIFA 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 knockout stage of a World Cup after Morocco in 1986 and 2022, and one of the few Asian national football teams (the 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 at the World Cup. However, Saudi Arabia then lost the following matches against Poland and Mexico to finish last.
In 2027, Saudi Arabia will host the AFC Asian Cup, the first time that the nation has ever hosted the AFC Asian Cup.[5] They will also host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.[6]
History
Early history (1951–1955)
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.[7]
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.[8]
Debuting successes and subsequent declines (1956–2016)
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, becoming Asian champions for the first time.[9] Since then, they reached the next four consecutive Asian Cup finals, winning two of them (1988 and 1996).[10][11] They have qualified for every AFC Asian Cup since, reaching the final in the 2007 edition.[12]
Saudi national team, 1984Saudi Arabia facing China in the 1984 AFC Asian Cup
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.[13] Saudi Arabia qualified for the next three FIFA World Cups, but failed to win a match in any of them; in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the team suffered an agonizing group stage elimination for the first time after only a draw was achieved, which occurred against South Africa. The team placed last in the 2002 FIFA World Cup without scoring a goal, while conceding 12, including eight against Germany, the most humiliating FIFA World Cup performance ever by an Asian team since 1954, and the team saw no improvement in the 2006 FIFA World Cup after winning only a single point against Arab rival Tunisia, and squandering a 2–1 lead in the last minutes before losing to Ukraine.[14]
After the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia suffered even further setbacks. The Saudis failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in agonizing playoffs that saw them again give up their 2–1 lead to a 2–2 draw to neighbor Bahrain.[15] In the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, the Saudis went on to have their worst-ever Asian Cup performance in history, losing all three games in a shocking style to Syria, Jordan and Japan.[16] Later on, Saudi Arabia failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, finishing behind Australia and Oman in the third round. This embarrassing record kept following the Saudis into the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, as the Saudis suffered another group stage exit, this time losing to China and Uzbekistan. They only won against North Korea.
Revival (2017–present)
Saudi Arabia secured qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, their first in 12 years,[17] ahead of Australia. In the first match of Group A and the tournament, Saudi Arabia were crushed by hosts Russia 5–0,[18] making this the second largest victory of any host.[19] Saudi Arabia then lost 1–0 to a Luis Suárez goal that put Uruguay as the eventual group winners.[20] Although they were already eliminated,[21] Saudi Arabia managed to win their final group stage match against Red Sea neighbours Egypt 2–1, coming back from behind after a Mohamed Salah goal.[22]
After the 2018 World Cup, Saudi Arabia participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, held in the United Arab Emirates; the team finished second in the group stage, after falling to Qatar in the final game,[23] 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.[24]
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.[25] The game ended in a scoreless draw.[26]
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.[27] In their opening game, they upset Argentina 2–1 within the first five minutes of second half with goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari, ending an Argentine unbeaten streak of 36 games dating back to 2019. The Saudi King declared a holiday after the win and Saudi fans celebrated with mocking words against Lionel Messi and the Argentine team.[28][29] In the next match against Poland, Piotr Zieliński broke Saudi hearts with a goal in the 39th minute and Robert Lewandowski scored his first FIFA World Cup goal; between these two goals also included a missed opportunity by Salem Al-Dawsari as the Saudis could not capitalise from their domination, losing 2–0.[30] This required a win against Mexico to advance to the round of 16 regardless of the Argentina–Poland result. Fielding three strikers in front, Saudi Arabia however were unable to exert any domination over the Mexican side, conceding two early second half goals by Henry Martín and Luis Chávez, the second being a thunderous midfield free kick; a late consolation goal by Salem Al-Dawsari was not enough as Saudi Arabia fell 2–1 and were eliminated after finishing last in Group C.[31]
Saudi Arabia, under new manager Roberto Mancini, entered the 2023 AFC Asian Cup with a sense of bitter pride from their World Cup performance, finding itself in Group F with Oman, Kyrgyzstan and Thailand. The Saudis started their campaign with a 2–1 comeback win over neighbour Oman, where Abdulrahman Ghareeb scored from a solo before a late Ali Al-Bulaihi's header sealed the dramatic win.[32] They then achieved a 2–0 win over Kyrgyzstan, where the Saudis were dominant from beginning to end against a nine-man squad.[33] The Saudis rested most of their key players as they held Thailand in a goalless draw to advance and top the group, putting the Saudis against fellow Asian titan South Korea in the last sixteen.[34] Against South Korea, Abdullah Radif opened the scoring in the first minute of the second half, but after conceding a Cho Gue-sung header in the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time, the game was determined by a penalty shootout after 30 minutes of extra time, where the Saudis lost 4–2 on penalties and were eliminated.[35]
Traditionally, Saudi Arabia's home kit is white with a green trim, and the away kit is green with a white trim (the Saudi flag colors).[36] From 2023, the team had a color kit reversal where green is the home kit, and white is their away kit.
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. Saudi Arabia has won 4 matches, drew 6 times, and lost 5 against Iran. It is one of the ten most heated rivalries with political influence.[39][40]
Saudi Arabia's rivalry against Iraq 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.[41] The two countries since then have been up-and-down in relations, often ranging from lack of cooperation to 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.[42][43]
Outside the Middle East, the Saudis also have established rivalries with South Korea, Japan (including two Asian Cup finals) and most recently Australia.[citation needed]
Venues
Historically, Saudi Arabia played most of their home matches in King Fahd Sports City, located in the capital Riyadh. The stadium was also where some of Saudi Arabia's most important fixtures were played when the country hosted the first three King Fahd Cups (the predecessor of the FIFA Confederations Cup). The stadium was also home to some of Saudi Arabia's matches in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
^The assistant coach, Laurent Bonadéi took charge of the national team temporarily for the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.
^The assistant coach, Saad Al-Shehri took charge of the national team temporarily for the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup. He was once again named interim coach following Hervé Renard's resignation.
^Some sources have Al-Deayea listed with 178 appearances but this includes matches played against Olympic sides, matches that are not considered official for his teammates Sami Al-Jaber or Abdullah Zubromawi.[47][48][49]
Top goalscorers
Majed Abdullah is Saudi Arabia's top scorer with 72 goals.
*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.
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