CAIRO – 12 June 2018: Saudi Arabia returned to the World Cup competition after 12 years of absence as they last appeared in the competition in 2006 in Germany.
The Saudi Arabian national team, known as Green Eagles, hope to shine during their fifth participation at the World Cup.
Thanks to a late goal from their striker, Fahad al-Muwallad, against Japan at the last game of the qualifiers, the Green Eagles won a direct qualification to the World Cup in Russia after clinching second place at their group at the final round of the qualifiers. They accompanied the group leaders, Japan, to the World Cup.
Alongside Tunisia and Morocco, Saudi Arabia is the Arab nation with the most World Cup appearances as they appeared in the World Cup five times but they will never forget their first participation in 1994 in USA when they touched the sky.
The story of 1994
The Green Eagles team of 1994 is known as the golden generation of the nation. They had many great players in this team like Mohamed al-Deayea, Fuad Anwar Amin, Majed Abdullah, Saeed al-Owairan and Sami al-Jaber; they were led by veteran Argentinean manager, Jorge Solari.
The World Cup draw put Saudi Arabia alongside Morocco, Belgium and Netherlands in Group F.
The first game at the World Cup came against one of the favorites to win the title and the UEFA EURO 1988 winners, Netherlands.
The Saudi Arabian side gained confidence as Fuad Anwar scored the first Saudi Arabian goal at the history of the World Cup to open the score after 18 minutes and make the score 1-0 for the Arab nation.
Due to Lack of experience, the Arab team failed to keep their lead and lost the game at the end 2-1.
At the second game, the eagles faced the Atlas lions of Morocco who lost their first game 1-0 to Belgium.
Saudi Arabia won the game 2-1 thanks to two goals from Jaber and Anwar, while the Moroccan goal came from Mohammed Chaouch.
Owairan magic moment
At the last game needed to achieve victory over the Belgian side to secure qualification to the second round their midfielder, Owairan, took the Belgian team by storm when he took the ball from the Saudi Arabian box and dribbled every Belgian player he faced to open the score for his team after seven minutes. They kept their lead till the end of the game to reach the second round.
Saudi Arabia lost in the round of 16 with a score of 3-1 against Sweden who went on to get the Bronze Medal in that World Cup. Fahad al-Ghesheyan scored the Saudi Arabian only goal in the game.
Saudi Arabia became the second Arab team to reach round of 16 after Morocco in 1986.
Saudi Arabia won three consecutive World Cup qualifications from 1998 to 2006 but they failed to get through the first round.
Saudi Arabia appointed Argentinean manager, Juan Antonio Pizzi, who is known for his attacking football and the build up from the back four. The manager succeeded the Dutch manager, who led them at the qualification campaign, Bert van Marwijk.
Pizzi announced the Saudi Arabian squad for the World Cup and he left behind the best Saudi Arabian player, Nawaf al-Abed, who suffered a long term injury and failed to be fit for the competition.
Key Players
1- Fahad al-Muwallad
He is the man who led them to the World Cup scoring the only goal against Japan. He is an aggressive attacking fast player that never stops running during the whole game and he causes problems for the defense.
2- Salman el-Farag
He is the master mind of the team. Al-Hilal midfielder can control the rhythm of the game and he can control the ball under pressure.
3- Abdullah al-Mayouf
Since Mohamed al-Deayea’s retirement, no Saudi Arabian goalkeeper shined like Mayouf who earned the starting position at Al-Hilal.
Mayouf hopes to prove himself in his first major international competition with the Saudi team.
4- Yasser al-Shahrani
He can play right back, left back and in the midfield. He is the best tactical solution for his manager and his shots know the way to their target. He is one of the best full backs in Asia and he was named the best player in the Gulf in 2015.
5- Mohammad al-Sahlawi
He is the veteran striker for the national team; he is the man who has the best final touch in the team. Sahlawi is the best goal scorer at the Saudi squad as he scored 28 goals at 40 games with the national team.
Pizzi's chosen squad for the competition consisted of :
Goalkeepers:
Yasser al-Mosaileem, Abdullah al-Mayouf and Mohammed al-Owais.
Defenders:
Osama Hawsawi, Motaz Hawsawi, Omar Hawsawi, Yasser al-Shahrani, Mansour al-Harbi, Mohammed al-Burayk and Ali al-Bulayhi.
Midfielders:
Abdullah Otayf, Taisir al-Jassim, Hussein al-Moqahwi, Salman al-Faraj, Salem al-Dawsari, Yahya al-Shehri, Abdulmalik al-Khaibari, Mohammed Kanno, Abdulla al-Khaibari and Hattan Bahebri.
Strikers:
Mohammed al-Sahlawi, Fahad al-Muwallad and Mohannad Assiri.
Saudi Arabia will play the opening game against the host nation, Russia, on June 14.
Saudi Arabia plays in Group A alongside Egypt, Uruguay and Russia.
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