After some intense preparation under their French coach, Saudi Arabia head to a World Cup on their neighbours’ home turf. But Saudi Arabia lack quality, particularly up front. They may have a history of pulling off dramatic upsets, but they will be very much up against it in Group C…
The Manager
The Saudi national team’s manager is the French coach Herve Renard. After ending a 17-year playing career in 1999, Renard has enjoyed a diverse coaching career with clubs in France, Vietnam and Algeria, as well as Cambridge United. But club football has generally not been his forte. This is an international specialist.
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Renard is the first coach to win the Africa Cup of Nations with two different teams (Zambia 2012, Ivory Coast 2015), and his work has left him with millions of admirers across Africa. After trying his luck again in club football with Sochaux and Lille in Ligue 1 – but failing miserably – he returned to international football with Morocco in 2016, leading the Atlas Lions to a first World Cup in 20 years. After a surprising early exit from AFCON 2019, he resigned. Shortly after, he became the new Saudi Arabia boss.
Renard had a tough start in the demanding position in Riyadh. Saudi media questioned his abilities, but he proved critics wrong. Saudi Arabia qualified for their sixth World Cup with two games in hand, mainly thanks to the new combative 4-1-3-2 shape, though he recently changed his tactics to a more attacking 4-3-3.
Renard also has an interesting superstition: wearing a white buttoned shirt for matches. It started in 2012 with Zambia’s AFCON-winning journey, continued with the Ivory Coast three years later, with Morocco’s World Cup journey, and now with Saudi. The white shirt will be in Qatar too.
The household name you haven’t heard of yet
The best Saudi player is the team captain, Salem Al-Dawsari — a creative, robust, talented winger-forward who can change a game in a single move. Now 31, he grew up at Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia’s leading club, and became the prince of the local scene. In 2018, he even spent six months on loan at Villarreal but made just one appearance before returning to the comfort zone of Al-Hilal, where he shone once again. Previously, after years as a left-winger, he started to play more as a forward/second striker and hasn’t looked back since.
Salem is arriving at the World Cup after the best season of his career. Fifteen goals and six assists in 31 games made him Al-Hilal’s main goal contributor in 2021-22. Moreover, he was the club’s key player in their successful AFC Champions League campaign, scoring in the semi-final and final, and being named the competition’s MVP.
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In Saudi Arabia, he’s known for being a player who rises to the occasion for club and country. His goal against Egypt at the last World Cup is his most memorable moment in his 70 appearances in a national team shirt. If Saudi manager to score a goal in one of their Group C games against Argentina, Mexico and Poland, there is a good chance Salem will be the one who gets it. If and when he does, wait for his trademark “tornado” celebration. Saudi fans usually use the “storm” emoji on social media after his goals and it has become a viral trend.
Strengths
Saudi Arabia borders Qatar, so tens of thousands of Saudis are expected to travel and support their team in the World Cup. With the famous singing of the Saudi fans, it will be almost like playing at home.
Saudi Arabia are the only team, besides Qatar, to have been able to hold a proper training camp in preparation for the tournament. The team are finishing a two-month camp with six friendlies, so they’ll arrive ready — at least in terms of fitness and chemistry.
Under Renard, Saudi Arabia’s defenders improved and adopted a smoother connection to midfield. Ali Al-Bulaihi, Abdulelah Al-Amri and Abdullah Madu form a quality defensive line with good positioning and the ability to maintain possession well.
Their link to the relatively organised midfield with veteran Salman Al-Faraj, Abdulellah Al-Malki and Sami Al-Najei works well. With Hattan Bahebri and Al-Dawsari waiting in the wings, Saudi can create more dangerous attacks and opportunities than before. Overall, they can hold on to the ball well and play it confidently from defence to their opponents’ half.
Weaknesses
Despite all of the above, the Green Falcons are still one of the weakest teams at the World Cup, mainly due to their lack of quality in attack. In the past, Saudi Arabia enjoyed having quality goalscorers, but the days of national legends such as Majed Abdullah (72 goals), Sami Al-Jaber (46) or Yasser Al-Qahtani (42) are long gone. Even Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (28) is a memory.
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Nowadays, Saudi’s leading men up front are Saleh Al-Shehri and Firas Al-Buraikan, who scored seven and three respectively during qualification. It might not be enough against the defenders of Poland and Argentina. While Al-Shehri has been treated with a particular training plan from the coaching staff to improve his positioning and finishing, it all goes back to Salem, whom everyone will count on to create, lead, threaten and execute.
Local knowledge
The famous Saudi traveller Abdullah Al Salami was the first football fan to arrive in Qatar for the World Cup. He walked nearly 1600km from Jeddah, through the desert, to Doha. It took him 55 days. He had a Saudi flag and a Qatari flag tied to his backpack throughout the journey, endorsing unity between the two countries that didn’t hold diplomatic relations until not too long ago. Look for his Indiana Jones hat in the stands.
Expectations back home
The Saudi media and fans know that their team have been drawn in one of the hardest groups. The Saudi FA launched a digital identity campaign called “Giddam” (قدام, “come on” in Arabic) to support the team in digital platforms, and the country is entirely behind the team. At least until the first game.
Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, has a soft spot for significant football events. He was present in Saudi’s opening game in Russia in 2018. This time, he met the team before they left.
“I know that our group is difficult… and no one expects us to win or even to draw, so… enjoy the tournament. I don’t want any of you to play under pressure that affects your level,” he told the players at the meeting.
It might sound calming, but it could also add some pressure. Due to the sensitive diplomatic relations with Qatar, it’s not known whether MBS will be there, but if FIFA president Gianni Infantino shows up for Saudi Arabia’s match against Argentina, there’s a good chance he will be there too.
Read more: See the rest of The Athletic’s World Cup 2022 squad guides
Read more: Zielinski, Lewandowski goals led Poland to win over Saudi Arabia
(Main graphic — photo: Getty Images/design: Sam Richardson)