| Player | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Al-Deayea | Goalkeeper | Al-Hilal |
| Mohammad Khouja | Goalkeeper | Al-Shabab |
| Mabrouk Zayed | Goalkeeper | Al-Ittihad |
| Ahmad Al-Bahri | Defender | Al-Ittifak |
| Ahmad Al-Doukhi | Defender | Al-Ittihad |
| Nayef Al-Kadhi | Defender | Al-Ahli |
| Abdul Aziz Al-Khathran | Defender | Al-Hilal |
| Hamad Al-Montashari | Defender | Al-Ittihad |
| Hussein Abdul Ghani | Defender | Al-Ahli |
| Mohammad Masaad | Defender | Al-Ahli |
| Redha Takar | Defender | Al-Ittihad |
| Mohammad Amin | Midfielder | Al-Ittihad |
| Omar Al-Ghamdi | Midfielder | Al-Hilal |
| Mohammad Al-Shalhoub | Midfielder | Al-Hilal |
| Nawaf Al-Temyat | Midfielder | Al-Hilal |
| Khaled Aziz | Midfielder | Al-Hilal |
| Saoud Kariri | Midfielder | Al-Ittihad |
| Mohammad Nour | Midfielder | Al-Ittihad |
| Mohammad Al-Anbar | Forward | Al-Hilal |
| Saad Al-Harthi | Forward | Al-Nasr |
| Sami Al-Jaber | Forward | Al-Hilal |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani | Forward | Al-Hilal |
| Malek Maath | Forward | Al-Ahli |
| Head Coach: | Marcos Paqueta | |
Scouting Report
Style of play: Saudi Arabia plays an aggressive brand of soccer, using its collective speed on the counterattack to score against the run of the play. Coach Marcos Paqueta will go with a 4-4-2 formation in Germany, but look for him to change things up a bit and convert to a 4-5-1 with a lone striker up front supported by three attacking midfielders. Saudi Arabia uses its power and athleticism to try and build the attack through the middle. Mohammed Nour is the team's main creator, orchestrating the attack with powerful runs in the middle of the field before laying off a quick pass for the two strikers, Sami Al-Jaber, Yasser Al-Qahtani. Al-Jaber is Saudi Arabia's main scoring threat, and more often than not the midfield will try and get the ball to him just outside the penalty area. From there, he'll use his strength to muscle into the box and go for goal.
Probable starting formation (4-4-2): (GK) Mohammad Al-Deayea - (D) Abdul Aziz Al-Khathran, Redha Takar, Hamad Al-Montashari, Ahmad Al-Bahri - (M) Mohammad Nour, Saoud Kariri, Khaled Aziz, Mohammad Al-Shalhoub - (F) Sami Al-Jaber, Yasser Al-Qahtani
Strengths:
Strong qualification - Saudi Arabia looked very strong in qualification,
winning 10 of 12 games (with two draws) and outscoring their opponents 24-2.
Nations such as Kuwait and Uzbekistan aren't exactly stiff competition, but
Saudi Arabia's domination in the qualifying rounds will
give them a much-needed boost of confidence.
Favourable draw - The group draw was somewhat favourable to the Saudis.
Spain is prone to fits of inconsistency at the World Cup, Ukraine is making
its tournament debut and Tunisia hasn't made it out of the first round in
three appearances. The Saudis just might have enough to sneak into second
place in such a "weak" group.
Hunger - Saudi Arabia will be playing in its fourth consecutive World
Cup, a testament to its status as one of the elite nations in Asian soccer.
Now its aim is to capitalize on that momentum to establish itself on the global
stage. They're also anxious to erase the memories of their disastrous World
Cup campaign from four years ago.
Weaknesses:
Skilled players - Saudi Arabia's national team draws it players exclusively
from the Saudi domestic league. This puts Saudi Arabia at a decided disadvantage,
as it has to rely on players with limited skill and virtually no experience
at the highest level of club soccer.
Offensive attack - Without any proven strikers at the international
level, Saudi Arabia will be very hard-pressed to score goals in Germany. Sami
Al-Jaber is the team's only goal-scoring threat, but he's clearly lost a step
and is not the player he once was.
Poor recent form - Saudi Arabia has looked abysmal in international
competitions the last two years. It crashed out of the soccer tournament at
last year's Asian Games in embarrassing fashion, and failed to progress beyond
the opening stage at the Asian Cup and Gulf Cup in 2004.
Players to watch:
Sami Al-Jaber - The heart and soul of Saudi Arabia. The 33-year-old striker
has played in the last three World Cups, but quit the national team in 2002.
He came out of retirement to help Saudi Arabia qualify his time around and
is anxious to show the world he still has plenty of talent. As the captain,
his experience is vital.
Mohammed Nour - A strong and powerful midfielder who was recently called
back into the national team fold after a two-year absence. The 28-year-old
is Saudi Arabia's creative spark, a skilful playmaker who expertly pulls the
strings from midfield. He has a real eye for goal, as well.
Hamad Al-Montashari - The reigning Asian player of the year. A tall
central defender with long, giraffe-like legs, Al-Montashari marshals the
defence with his calm and cool play at the back. He was a big reason why the
Saudis only gave up two goals in 12 qualifying games.
Key injuries/ squad omissions: Veteran striker Sami Al-Jaber, who will captain the team, was lured out of international retirement at the start of 2005. Former Asian player of the year Nawaf Al-Temyat has overcome a series of injuries to make a welcome return to the squad.
Prognosis: Saudi Arabia is one of the established powers of Asian soccer, but success on the game's greatest stage has proven much harder to come by. Winners of three Asian Cups (1984, 1988, 1996), the Saudis will appear in their fourth consecutive World Cup after they defeated South Korea in the final round of Asian qualifying. Even though they're not exactly in a tough group (Spain, Tunisia and Ukraine also make up Group G), don't expect the Saudis to sneak into the second round. All of its power and athleticism doesn't make up for Saudi Arabia's lack of star power and quality players. The Saudis won't be embarrassed like they were four years ago when they suffered a humiliating 8-0 loss to Germany, but they will finish bottom of the group.
Road to the World Cup
Current FIFA Ranking: #34
1st round matches:
June 14 vs. Tunisia in Munich
June 19 vs. Ukraine in Hamburg
June 23 vs. Spain in Kaiserslautern
2006 qualification route: Saudi Arabia finished in first place (18
points) in Asia's Group 8 ahead of Turkmenistan (7 points) in the first round
of qualifying. It finished first (14 points) in Group A in the final round
ahead of South Korea (10 points).
Qualifying record: 12 games played, 10 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses
Goals for: 24 Goals against: 2
Top goal-scorer in qualifying: Sami Al-Jaber, Mohammad Al Shlhoub,
Ibrahim Al Shahrani (3)
Qualifying results: (home team listed first)
Feb. 18, 2004 - Saudi Arabia 3, Indonesia 0
March 31, 2004 - Sri Lanka 0, Saudi Arabia 1
June 9, 2004 - Saudi Arabia 3, Turkmenistan 0
Sept. 8, 2004 - Turkmenistan 0, Saudi Arabia 1
Oct. 12, 2004 - Indonesia 1, Saudi Arabia 3
Nov. 17, 2004 - Saudi Arabia 3, Sri Lanka 0
Feb. 9, 2005 - Uzbekistan 1, Saudi Arabia 1
March 25, 2005 - Saudi Arabia 2, South Korea 0
March 30, 2005 - Kuwait 0, Saudi Arabia 0
June 3, 2005 - Saudi Arabia 3, Kuwait 0
June 8, 2005 - Saudi Arabia 3, Uzbekistan 0
Aug. 17, 2005 - South Korea 0, Saudi Arabia 1
World Cup History
FIFA member since: 1959
Team nickname: Sons of The Desert
All-time caps leader: Mohamed Al-Deayea (173)
All-time leading scorer: Majed Abdullah (67 goals)
Number of Previous World Cup Appearances: 3
All-time record: 10 games played, 2 wins, 1 draw, 7 losses
Goals for: 7 Goals against: 25
World Cup History:
1930 to 1974 - Did not enter
1978 to 1990 - Did not qualify
1994 - Second round
1998 - First round
2002 - First round
Biggest victory: 2-1 vs. Morocco in 1994
Biggest defeat: 8-0 vs. Germany in 2002
Overall top scorer: Fuad Amin and Sami Al-Jaber (2 goals)
Most appearances: Mohammed Al-Deayea (10 matches)
Hosted the World Cup: Never
Past Achievements:
Asian Cup Champions: 1984, 1988, 1996
Under-17 World Champions: 1989
Greatest Players:
Majed Abdullah: Saudi Arabia's player of the century, Majed Abdullah is
considered one of the greatest Asian strikers of all time. Majed was part
of the Saudi national team that won the Asian Cup for the first time in 1984
and is his country's all-time leading scorer with 67 goals.
Saeed Al-Owairan: Centre-forward Saeed Al-Owairan led Saudi Arabia to the second round of the 1994 World Cup in its first appearance at the tournament. Scored 24 goals in 50 games for Saudi Arabia, including an incredible individual effort against Belgium at the 1994 World Cup. Voted Asian player of the year in 1994 round.