This article is about the men ‘s team. For the women ‘s team, see Saudi Arabia women ‘s national football team
The Saudi Arabia national football team ( Arabic : المنتخب العربي السعودي لكرة القدم‎ ) represents Saudi Arabia in men ‘s international football, and the team ‘s colours are park and white. Saudi Arabia are known as Al-Suqour ( The Falcons ) and Al-Akhdhar ( The Green ) ; the team represents both FIFA and Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ). Considered one of Asia ‘s most successful national teams, Saudi Arabia have won the asian Cup three times ( 1984, 1988, and 1996 ), reached a joint record six asian Cup finals and have qualified for the World Cup on five occasions since debuting at the 1994 tournament. Saudi Arabia is the first AFC state to reach the final of a senior FIFA competition, when it achieved during the 1992 King Fahd Cup, which would finally become the eventual FIFA Confederations Cup. only Australia and Japan managed to repeat this feat, in 1997 and 2001, though Australia achieved it when it was a member of the OFC.

In the 1994 World Cup, under the leadership of Jorge Solari, Saudi Arabia beat both Belgium and Morocco in the group phase before falling to Sweden in the Round of 16. thus Saudi Arabia became the irregular Arab national football team in history to reach the Round of 16 in a World Cup, after Morocco ‘s Round of 16 elimination in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, and one of the few asian national football teams ( others being Australia, Japan, South Korea, North Korea ) to accomplish such a feat to date .

history [edit ]

The idea of a Saudi national team first came approximately in 1951, when a Saudi XI team consisting of players from Al-Wehda and Al-Ahli took contribution in a friendly game against the egyptian Ministry of Health on June 27, 1951, at the Al-Saban Stadium in Jeddah. The postdate day, the Egyptians took on a Saudi team made up of players from Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal in Al-Bahri in Jeddah. On August 2, 1951, His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal organized a third base friendly with the egyptian team against a Saudi National XI with players from Al-Wehda, and Al-Ahli. By then the mind of a national choose team to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was already in wide stream, and in 1953 the first-ever Saudi team traveled to play friendly matches overseas. 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 nation in April 1953. [ 5 ] In 1957, the Saudi national team took character in their foremost 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 October 18, 1957. The first game played at the stadium was between the home teams of Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Abdulmajeed Kayal scored for the Saudis while Levon Altonian netted for the home plate side. The Saudi players came from teams from Jeddah and Mecca, while the team was given defend and boost from Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal for their trip to Beirut. [ 6 ] Though their football confederation 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, which they won. They subsequently became one of Asia ‘s most successful home teams, reaching the next four consecutive asian Cup finals and winning two of them ( 1988 and 1996 ). They have qualified for every asian Cup since, but their best performance in that period was reaching the final in 2007. Saudi Arabia qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 1994. Under the leadership of Jorge Solari and with talents like Saeed Al-Owairan and Sami Al-Jaber, reinforced by national seasoned Majed Abdullah as team captain, Saudi Arabia beat both Belgium and Morocco in the group stage before falling to Sweden in the Round of 16. Saudi Arabia qualified for the next three World Cups, but did not win a group stage match in any of them. They failed to qualify for the 2010 and 2014 tournaments. Saudi Arabia secured reservation for the 2018 tournament, [ 7 ] ahead of Australia. however, they started on a sour bill by letting host Russia rout them 0–5 on the open match, [ 8 ] make this the second gear largest victory of any host state at the FIFA World Cup. [ 9 ] The record of the horde ‘s largest open victory is however by Italy, beating the United States 7–1, in 1934. [ 10 ] once again, Saudi Arabia failed to reach the adjacent round, after suffering another frustration, this fourth dimension, losing 0–1 to Uruguay. [ 11 ] Saudi Arabia ‘s performance in the tournament was deemed to be their worst performance since 2002 World Cup, where they were beaten 8-0 by Germany in their opening game and finished 32nd and penetrate in the final rankings. [ 12 ] Although they were eliminated, [ 13 ] they managed to salvage some pride by winning their final group stage couple ( and their first winnings at a World Cup since 1994 ) against Red Sea neighbor Egypt. [ 14 ] After the 2018 World Cup, Saudi Arabia participated in the 2019 AFC asian Cup with a identical high optimism after an acceptable performance in the World Cup, with the Saudis won its first World Cup crippled since 1994 edition. however, Saudi Arabia finished second in the group stagecoach, after falling to Qatar in the final game, [ 15 ] and had to face another elephantine, Japan, in the round of sixteen. The Saudis dominated the whole game, but ultimately lost 0–1 due to inadequate end and crashed out from the competition. [ 16 ] 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 startle of normalizing the relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but it was viewed by the Palestinian National Authority as a hold for their sovereignty over the West Bank. [ 17 ] The game ended in a scoreless pull. [ 18 ]

Kits and crests [edit ]

The Saudi Arabia national football team ‘s first kit are traditionally white and the moment kit out are green ( flag colors ). [ 19 ]

Kit suppliers [edit ]

Rivalries [edit ]

due to historical reasons, matches against Iran have been frequently followed and seen by Saudis as the most authoritative rival. This stems from the strong hatred between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in detail late years due to religious sectarianism and diachronic enmities. Saudi Arabia is trailing behind the series, but only one plot defeat, with 4 wins, 6 draws and 5 losses. It ‘s one of 10 most heated rivalries with political influence. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] Saudi Arabia ‘s early heat equal is Iraq. however, the competition only began in 1970s. ascribable to the Gulf War, which Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia ‘s ally Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq finally become bitter equal fighting to salvage arabian pride. [ 22 ] The two countries since then have an up-and-down in relations, frequently ranged from miss of cooperation and political confrontation. Iraq about pulled out of the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup after the country was disallowed to host the rival in a move believed to be motivated by Saudi Arabia. [ 23 ] Saudi Arabia ‘s other rivals are by and large from the Gulf, notably Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates .

Venues [edit ]

historically, Saudi Arabia played most of their home matches in King Fahd International Stadium, located in the capital Riyadh. The stadium was besides where some of Saudi Arabia ‘s most significant fixtures were when the state hosted the first three King Fahd Cups ( predecessor of the Confederations Cup ). The stadium was besides 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 bank identification number Fahd Stadium in Dammam and the second round played wholly in Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers second round against Sri Lanka and at the first repair against Uzbekistan in the third base beat, Saudi Arabia played again in Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium. It was accelerated from 2010s ahead as Saudi Arabia began to play frequent home fixtures in newly built King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah and Mrsool Park besides in Riyadh .

holocene schedule and results [edit ]

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

2021 [edit ]

Coaching staff [edit ]

As of 29 July 2019[24][25]

Coaching history [edit ]

Players [edit ]

current team [edit ]

  • The following 23 players were called up for the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup:[26]
  • Match date: 1 – 7 December 2021
  • Opposition:  Jordan Palestine Morocco
  • Caps and goals are correct as of 7 December 2021, after the match against  Morocco
  • Caps and goals including all matches officially recognized by SAFF (also those not recognized by FIFA).

holocene call-ups [edit ]

The following players have besides been called up to the Saudi Arabia squad within the final 12 months .

player records [edit ]

As of 20 November 2018[27]
Players in bold are still active with Saudi Arabia.

competitive record [edit ]

*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.

FIFA World Cup [edit ]

AFC asian Cup [edit ]

Asian Cup record

Asian Cup Qualification record

Year

Result

Position

Hong Kong1956
Not a AFC member
Not a AFC member
South Korea1960
Israel1964
Iran1968
Thailand1972
Iran1976
Withdrew

6
3
1
2
12
5

Kuwait1980
Withdrew
Singapore1984
Champions
1st
6
3
3
0
7
3

4
4
0
0
19
0

Qatar1988
Champions
1st
6
3
3
0
5
1
Automatic qualification as champions
Japan1992
Runners-up
2nd
5
2
2
1
8
3
Automatic qualification as champions
United Arab Emirates1996
Champions
1st
6
3
2
1
11
6

4
4
0
0
10
0

Lebanon2000
Runners-up
2nd
6
3
1
2
11
8
Automatic qualification as champions
China2004
Group stage
13th
3
0
1
2
3
5

6
6
0
0
31
1

IndonesiaMalaysiaThailandVietnam2007
Runners-up
2nd
6
4
1
1
12
6

6
5
0
1
21
4

Qatar2011
Group stage
15th
3
0
0
3
1
8

Automatic qualification as Runners-up
Australia2015
Group stage
10th
3
1
0
2
5
5

6
5
1
0
9
3

United Arab Emirates2019
Round of 16
12th
4
2
0
2
6
3

8
6
2
0
28
4

China2023
Qualified

8
6
2
0
22
4

Total
3 Titles
11/18
48
21
13
14
69
48
48
39
6
3
152
21

FIFA Confederations Cup [edit ]

arab Gulf Cup record [edit ]

Pan Arab Games [edit ]

Pan Arab Games record

Year

Result

Egypt1953
Did not enter
Lebanon1957
Group stage
3
1
1
1
4
3

Morocco1961
Round Robin
5
1
0
4
4
38

United Arab Republic1965
Did not enter
Syria1976
Runners-up
6
3
1
2
9
4

Morocco1985
Fourth place
4
3
0
1
6
3

Lebanon1997
Did not enter
Jordan1999
First Round
2
0
1
1
2
3

Egypt2007
Third place
4
1
1
2
5
5

Qatar2011
First Round
2
0
1
1
0
2

Total
7/10
26
9
5
12
31
58

WAFF Championship record

Year

Round

Jordan2000
Did not participate
Syria2002
Iran2004
Jordan2007
Iran2008
Jordan2010
Kuwait2012
Group stage
3
1
1
1
1
1

Qatar2014
Group stage
2
0
1
1
1
4

Iraq2019
Group stage
3
0
1
2
1
5

Total
3/9
8
1
3
4
3
10

all-time results [edit ]

The following table shows Saudi Arabia ‘s all-time international record, correct as of 18 November 2020 .

Against

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Total
677
319
151
197
1033
728

Honours [edit ]

International [edit ]

Runner-up: 1992
Fourth Place: 1999

Continental [edit ]

Winner: 1984, 1988, 1996
Runner-up: 1992, 2000, 2007
Silver Medalists: 1986
Bronze Medalists: 1982

regional [edit ]

Winner: 1994, 2002, 2003
Runner-up: 1972, 1974, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2019
Third Place: 1970, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1996
Winner: 1998, 2002
Runner-up: 1992
Third Place: 1985
Silver Medalists: 1976
Bronze Medalists: 2007

other [edit ]

Gold Medalists: 2005

Notes [edit ]

References [edit ]

Titles [edit ]