Football World Cup 2018 / Saudi Arabia

Football World Cup 2018 : Saudi Arabia
Trainer	Juan Antonio Pizzi
captain	Osama Hawsawi
Qualified as	Second Asia group 2
World rankings before the tournament	67
Tournament result	Out in the preliminary round
Games won	1
Games tie	0
Games lost	2
Gates	2: 7

This article covers the Saudi Arabian national soccer team at the 2018 World Cup . Saudi Arabia entered the finals for the fifth time and was the second worst-placed participant in the FIFA world rankings as of October 2017. Only host Russia, which the Saudis faced as the first Asian team in the opening game, was worse placed at this point.

qualification

The team qualified through the qualification of the Asian Football Association AFC .

Games

Mohammad al-Sahlawi, top Asian scorer in qualifying

Saudi Arabia began qualifying under Faisal Al Baden , who took over the team in March 2015, and did not have to intervene until the second round . The Saudis met Malaysia , East Timor , Palestine and the United Arab Emirates in the group stage round . Of the eight resulting games, Saudi Arabia won six and played twice. After the first game, Al Baden was replaced by the Dutchman Bert van Marwijk , who led the Dutch team to the 2010 World Cup final. In the sixth group game, the Saudis achieved the highest win in their international history in a 10-0 win over East Timor, with Mohammad al-Sahlawi alone scoring half the goals.

As group winners, Saudi Arabia qualified for the third round, which again took place as a group stage. Here the Saudis met Australia , Japan , again the United Arab Emirates , Iraq and Thailand . The Saudis lost three out of ten games. They also played a draw once. The direct qualification for the final round only succeeded on the last day of the game with a 1-0 win against the Japanese who had already qualified. This gave them the better goal difference compared to the Australians with the same number of points, who were content with third place and had to go through internal and intercontinental playoffs in order to qualify.

The coaches used a total of 34 players in the 18 games, 14 of whom were also in the squad for the 2015 Asian Cup . Two players were used in all games: Yahya Al-Shehri and Taisir Al-Jassim . In 17 games were captain Osama Hawsawi , who had to pause after a yellow-red card, Salman Al-Faraj , who was not used in the first game, and Abdulmalek Al-Khaibri , who was missing in the last game, were used. Five players only had one bet. Khalid Sharahili was always in goal in the second round , Yasser Al-Mosailem played the most games in the third round (7), Abdullah Al-Mayouf scored twice and Mohammed Al-Owais once.

The best scorer was Mohammad al-Sahlawi with 16 goals, making him the best Asian scorer of the qualification and together with the Poland Robert Lewandowski was the top scorer of all teams that took part in the qualification. Lewandowski had scored his 16 goals in 10 games, while al-Sahlawi came on 14 missions. A total of 12 Saudis contributed at least one goal to the 43 goals they scored themselves. They also benefited from an own goal by a Thai player and were awarded a goal at the green table.

Second round

date	Venue	host		guest	Result	Goal scorers for Saudi Arabia
06/11/2015	Damam	Saudi Arabia	-	Palestine	3: 2 (1: 0)	Yahya Al-Shehri (6th), Mohammad al-Sahlawi (47th, 90th + 3)
09/03/2015	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	-	East Timor	7: 0 (5: 0)	Yahya Al-Shehri (2nd), Mohammad al-Sahlawi (23rd / penalty, 26th, 71st), Salman Al-Faraj (30th), Taisir Al-Jassim (32nd), Fahad Al-Muwallad (74th) .)
09/08/2015	Shah Alam	Malaysia	-	Saudi Arabia	0: 3	Mohammad al-Sahlawi (73rd), Taisir Al-Jassim (76th)
08/10/2015	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	-	Ver. Arab. Emirates	2: 1 (1: 1)	Mohammad al-Sahlawi (44th, 90th / penalty)
11/09/2015	Amman ( JOR )	Palestine	-	Saudi Arabia	0-0
11/17/2015	Dili	East Timor	-	Saudi Arabia	0:10 (0: 4)	Mohammad al-Sahlawi (30th / penalty, 42nd, 56th / penalty, 71st, 88th) Osama Hawsawi (33rd), Yahya Al-Shehri (35th), Taisir Al-Jassim (85th), Naif Hazazi (90th), Fahad Al-Muwallad (90th + 2)
March 24, 2016	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	-	Malaysia	2: 0 (0: 0)	Mohammad al-Sahlawi (50th), Taisir Al-Jassim (74th)
03/29/2016	Abu Dhabi	Ver. Arab. Emirates	-	Saudi Arabia	1: 1 (0: 1)	Taisir Al-Jassim (24th)

1. ↑ The game was abandoned in the 87th minute when the score was 1: 2 from the point of view of Malaysia after objects were thrown onto the field. It was subsequently rated as 3-0 in favor of Saudi Arabia.
2. ↑ The game was originally supposed to be played on October 13, 2015, but was then postponed to November 9, 2015. Source = Palestine versus Saudi Arabia and Malaysia on neutral ground , In: FIFA.com of November 4, 2015
3. ↑ The game was played on neutral ground due to the uncertain situation in Palestine.

Final table of the second round

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Saudi Arabia	8th	6th	2	0	028: 400	+24	20th
2.	United Arab Emirates	8th	5	2	1	025: 400	+21	17th
3.	Palestine	8th	3	3	2	022: 600	+16	12
4th	Malaysia	8th	1	1	6th	003:300	−27	04th
5.	East Timor	8th	0	2	6th	002:360	−34	02

Third round

date	Venue	host		guest	Result	Goal scorers for Saudi Arabia
09/01/2016	Riad	Saudi Arabia	-	Thailand	1: 0 (0: 0)	Nawaf Al-Abed (84th / penalty)
09/06/2016	Shah Alam ( MSA )	Iraq	-	Saudi Arabia	1: 2 (1: 0)	Nawaf Al-Abed (81./ penalty, 88./ penalty)
10/06/2016	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	-	Australia	2: 2 (1: 1)	Taisir Al-Jassim (5), Nasser Al-Shamrani (79.)
10/11/2016	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	-	Ver. Arab. Emirates	3: 0 (0: 0)	Fahad Al-Muwallad (73rd), Nawaf Al-Abed (78th), Yahya Al-Shehri (90th + 2)
11/15/2016	Saitama	Japan	-	Saudi Arabia	2: 1 (1: 0)	Omar Hawsawi (90.)
03/23/2017	Bangkok	Thailand	-	Saudi Arabia	0: 3 (0: 1)	Mohammad al-Sahlawi (26th), own goal Thailand (82), Salman Al-Moasher (90th + 2)
03/28/2017	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	-	Iraq	1: 0 (0: 0)	Yahya Al-Shehri (53rd)
06/08/2017	Adelaide	Australia	-	Saudi Arabia	3: 2 (2: 2)	Salem Al-Dawsari (23rd), Mohammad al-Sahlawi (47th)
08/29/2017	al-Ain	Ver. Arab. Emirates	-	Saudi Arabia	2: 1 (1: 1)	Nawaf Al-Abed (19th)
05.09.2017	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	-	Japan	1: 0 (0: 0)	Fahad Al-Muwallad (63rd)

Third round final table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Japan	10	6th	2	2	017: 700	+10	20th
2.	Saudi Arabia	10	6th	1	3	017:100	+7	19th
3.	Australia	10	5	4th	1	016:110	+5	19th
4th	Ver. Arab. Emirates	10	4th	1	5	010:130	−3	13
5.	Iraq	10	3	2	5	011:120	−1	11
6th	Thailand	10	0	2	8th	006:240	−18	02

preparation

Despite the successful qualification, the Saudi Arabian Football Association and Bert van Marwijk could not agree on a contract extension, so that his engagement ended in September 2017. The successor was the Argentine Edgardo Bauza , who was dismissed as Argentine national coach in April after the Argentines lost 2-0 in qualifying against Bolivia. Under Bauza, the test matches in November were not satisfactory, so he was dismissed at the end of November. He was succeeded by his compatriot Juan Antonio Pizzi . At the games in the golf cup, the Saudis were coached by the Croatian Krunoslav Jurčić .

Games

date	Result	opponent	venue	Saudi Arabian goal scorers
7th November 2017	2-0	Latvia	Cruz Quebrada ( PRT )	Ali Al Zaqan (39th), Mukhtar Fallatah (45th)
November 10, 2017	0: 3	Portugal	Viseu
November 13, 2017	0: 1	Bulgaria	Lisbon ( PRT )
22nd December 2017	2: 1	Kuwait	Kuwait City	Salman Al Moasher (13th), Mukhtar Fallatah (52nd)
December 25, 2017	0-0	Ver. Arab. Emirates	Kuwait City ( KWT )
December 28, 2017	0: 2	Oman	Kuwait City ( KWT )
February 26, 2018	3-0	Moldova	Jeddah	Omar Hawsawi (10th), Taisir Al-Jassim (57th), Mohannad Aseri (88th)
February 28, 2018	1: 4	Iraq	Basra	Hassan Muath Fallatah (57.)
23 March 2018	1: 1	Ukraine	Marbella ( ESP )	Fahad Al-Muwallad (38th)
March 27, 2018	0: 4	Belgium	Brussels
May 9, 2018	2-0	Algeria	Cadiz ( ESP )	Salman Al-Faraj (24th), Yahya Al-Shehri (81st)
15th May 2018	2-0	Greece	Seville ( ESP )	Salem Al-Dawsari (19th), Mohammed Kanoo (79th)
May 28, 2018	1: 2	Italy	St. Gallen ( CHE )	Yahya Al-Shehri (72nd)
3rd June 2018	0: 3	Peru	St. Gallen ( CHE )
June 8, 2018	1: 2	Germany (TV)	Leverkusen	Taisir Al-Jassim (84th)

Remarks:

• Teams in italics are not qualified for the World Cup.
• For the games in December at the Golf Cup 2017 , only four players were nominated, who were also used in the qualifying games.

Quarter

The team's quarters were the “Belmond Grand Hotel Europe” in the center of Saint Petersburg , where the team could use the Zenit Saint Petersburg training base.

Group draw

For the draw of the qualifying groups on December 1st, Saudi Arabia was assigned to Pot 4. The team to score in the Group A against hosts Russia , Egypt and former world champion Uruguay . The Saudis have not played against any of the three teams in their previous four World Cup appearances.

The Saudis played against Egypt in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and won 5-1. There are also three other international matches recognized by FIFA, with one draw and two defeats. The Saudis also suffered their highest defeat against Egypt with 0:13, but the game, like five others, is not counted by FIFA. Against Russia, against which the Saudis will be the first Asian team to play the opening game, there has only been one friendly match that was lost 4-2. Against Uruguay, only two friendlies with a win and a draw have been played so far.

Squad

The preliminary roster was named on May 17th. Assaf Al-Qarni (goal), Saeed Al Mowalad , Mohammed Jahfali , Nawaf Al-Abed and Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi did not make it into the final squad .

Item	No.	! player	Club before the start of the World Cup	Date of birth	International matches *	Länderspiel- gates *	debut	Last use
goal	21st	Yasser Al-Mosailem (ALMOSAILEM)	al-Ahli	02/27/1984	32	0	2006	05/15/2018	1
	01	Abdullah Al-Mayouf (ABDULLAH)	al-Hilal M	01/23/1987	10	0	2013	06/08/2018	1
	22nd	Mohammed Al-Owais (ALOWAIS)	al-Ahli	10/10/1991	8th	0	2013	May 28, 2018	1
Defense	03	Osama Hawsawi (OSAMA)	al-Hilal M	March 31, 1984	132	6th	2006	06/08/2018	2
	05	Omar Hawsawi (OMAR)	al-Nasr	09/27/1985	46	3	2013	06/08/2018	2
	02	Mansoor Al-Harbi (MANSOUR)	al-Ahli	04/07/1987	41	1	2004	06/08/2018
	13	Yasser Al-Shahrani (YASIR)	al-Hilal M	05/25/1992	38	0	2012	06/08/2018	3
	23	Motaz Hawsawi (MOTAZ)	al-Ahli	02/17/1992	19th	0	2012	06/03/2018	1
	06th	Mohammed Al-Breik (ALBURAYK)	al-Hilal M	09/15/1992	11	1	2016	06/08/2018	3
	04th	Ali Al Bulaihi (ALI)	al-Hilal M	11/21/1989	4th	0	2018	06/08/2018	1
midfield	17th	Taisir Al-Jassim (TAISEER)	al-Ahli	07/25/1984	131	19th	2004	06/08/2018	2		1
	08th	Yahya al-Shehri (YAHIA)	CD Leganés	06/26/1990	54	8th	2010	06/08/2018	2
	07th	Salman Al-Faraj (SALMAN)	al-Hilal M	08/01/1989	44	3	2013	06/08/2018	3	1
	11	Abdulmalek Al-Khaibri (ABDULMALEK)	al-Hilal M	03/13/1986	34	0	2014	06/03/2018
	18th	Salem Al-Dawsari (SALEM)	Villarreal CF	08/19/1991	35	5	2012	06/08/2018	3	1
	16	Housain Al-Mogahwi (HUSSAIN)	al-Ahli	28.01./24.03.1988	18th	1	2012	06/08/2018	2
	14th	Abdullah Otayf (OTAYF)	al-Hilal M	08/03/1992	18th	1	2012	06/08/2018	3
	12	Mohamed Kanno (KANNO)	al-Hilal M	09/22/1994	6th	1	2017	May 28, 2018	1
	15th	Abdullah Al-Khaibari (ALKHAIBARI)	al-Shabab	08/16/1996	5	0	2018	06/08/2018	1
	09	Hattan Bahebri (HATAN)	al-Shabab	07/16/1992	6th	0	2017	06/08/2018	3
Storm	19th	Fahad Al-Muwallad (FAHAD)	Levante UD	09/14/1994	46	10	2013	06/08/2018	3
	10	Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (ALSAHLAWI)	al-Nasr	01/10/1987	42	28	2010	06/08/2018	2
	20th	Muhannad Assiri (MUHANNAD)	al-Ahli	10/14/1986	16	4th	2010	May 28, 2018	2
Coaching staff	Trainer	Juan Antonio Pizzi		06/07/1968	22nd	8th	2018
(*) only the games and goals that were played or scored before the start of the World Cup are given.
↑ Numbers according to the official squad list ↑ Shirt name in brackets ↑ M = The club became champions of its country in the 2017/18 season ↑ Kicker and FIFA give different information about the birthday and month. ↑ a b As a player for Spain, including 1 World Cup game in 1998

Finals

Group stage / group A matches

Moscow Rostov on Don Volgograd St. Petersburg

Venues and quarters (blue / italic) of the Saudi Arabian team

→ Main article : Football World Cup 2018 / Group A

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Uruguay	3	3	0	0	005-000	+5	09
2.	Russia	3	2	0	1	008: 400	+4	06th
3.	Saudi Arabia	3	1	0	2	002: 700	−5	03
4th	Egypt	3	0	0	3	002: 600	−4	00

Thursday, June 14, 2018, 6:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. CEST) in Moscow (Luzhniki Olympic Stadium)
Russia	-	Saudi Arabia	5: 0 (2: 0)
Wed., June 20, 2018, 6:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. CEST) in Rostov-on-Don
Uruguay	-	Saudi Arabia	1: 0 (1: 0)
Mon., June 25, 2018, 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. CEST) in Volgograd
Saudi Arabia	-	Egypt	2: 1 (1: 1)	45 + 6 ′ Al-Faraj , 90 + 5 ′ Al-Dawsari

Individual evidence

1. ↑ sport1.de: "Saudi Arabia: Out for van Marwijk"
2. ↑ fifa.com: Pizzi takes over World Cup participants Saudi Arabia
3. ↑ fifa.com: 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Team Base Camps
4. ^ Saudi Arabia name squad for pre-World Cup camp. Retrieved May 20, 2018 .