Saudi Arabia national football team

History

Early history (1951–1955)

The idea of a Saudi national team first came about in 1951, when a Saudi XI team consisting of players from Al-Wehda and Al-Ahli took part in a friendly game against the Egyptian Ministry of Health on 27 June at the Al-Saban Stadium in Jeddah. The following day, the Egyptians took on a Saudi team made up of players from Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal in Al-Bahri in the same city. On 2 August, His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal organized a third friendly with the Egyptian team against Saudi Arabia with players from Al-Wehda, and Al-Ahli. By then, the idea of a national select team to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was already in full flow, and in 1953 the first-ever Saudi team traveled to play friendly matches abroad. 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 country in April.

In 1957, the Saudi national team took part in their first 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 18 October. Abdulmajeed Kayal scored for the Saudis while Levon Altonian netted for the home side.

Debuting successes and subsequent declines (1956–2016)

Though their football federation 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, becoming Asian champions for the first time. Since then, they reached the next four consecutive Asian Cup finals, winning two of them (1988 and 1996). They have qualified for every AFC Asian Cup since, reaching the final in the 2007 edition.

Saudi Arabia qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 1994 under the leadership of Argentine manager Jorge Solari and talents like Saeed Al-Owairan and Sami Al-Jaber, reinforced by national veteran Majed Abdullah as team captain. Wins against Belgium and Morocco in the group stage led to a match-up against Sweden in the round of 16, a 3–1 loss. Saudi Arabia qualified for the next three FIFA World Cups, but failed to win a match in any of them; in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the team suffered an agonizing group stage elimination for the first time after only a draw was achieved, which occurred against South Africa. The team placed last in the 2002 FIFA World Cup without scoring a goal, while conceding 12, including eight against Germany, the most humiliating FIFA World Cup performance ever by an Asian team since 1954, and the team saw no improvement in the 2006 FIFA World Cup after winning only a single point against Arab rival Tunisia.

After the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia suffered even further setbacks. The Saudis failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in agonizing playoffs that saw them again give up their 2–1 lead to a 2–2 draw to neighbor Bahrain. In the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, the Saudis went on to have their worst-ever Asian Cup performance in history, losing all three games in a shocking style to Syria, Jordan and Japan. Later on, Saudi Arabia failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, finishing behind Australia and Oman in the third round. This embarrassing record kept following the Saudis into the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, as the Saudis suffered another group stage exit, this time losing to China and Uzbekistan. They only won against North Korea.

Revival (2017–present)

Saudi Arabia secured qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, their first in 12 years, ahead of Australia. In the first match of Group A and the tournament, Saudi Arabia were crushed by hosts Russia 5–0, making this the second largest victory of any host. Saudi Arabia then lost 1–0 to a Luis Suárez goal that put Uruguay as the eventual group winners. Although they were already eliminated, Saudi Arabia managed to win their final group stage match against Red Sea neighbours Egypt 2–1, coming back from behind after a Mohamed Salah goal.

After the 2018 World Cup, Saudi Arabia participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, held in the United Arab Emirates; the team finished second in the group stage, after falling to Qatar in the final game, leading to a showdown against Japan in the round of 16. The Saudis dominated the whole game, but ultimately lost 1–0 due to poor finishing.[[File:KSA-EGY (2).jpg|thumb|Saudi Arabia against [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]] in the [[2018 World Cup]].]]

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 start of normalizing the relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but it was viewed by the Palestinian National Authority as a support for their sovereignty over the West Bank. The game ended in a scoreless draw.

Saudi Arabia qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the first to be held in the Middle East, by topping their qualifying group and were drawn against Argentina, Poland and Mexico. In their opening game, they upset Argentina 2–1 within the first five minutes of the second half with goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari, ending an Argentine unbeaten streak of 36 games dating back to 2019. The Saudi King declared a holiday after the win and Saudi fans celebrated with mocking words against Lionel Messi and the Argentine team. In the next match against Poland, Piotr Zieliński opened proceedings with a goal in the 39th minute and Robert Lewandowski scored the second goal, while Salem Al-Dawsari's penalty kick was saved by Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny as Saudi Arabia lost 2–0. This required a win against Mexico to advance to the round of 16 regardless of the Argentina–Poland result. Fielding three strikers in front, Saudi Arabia however were unable to exert any domination over the Mexican side, conceding two early second half goals by Henry Martín and Luis Chávez, the second being a thunderous midfield free kick; a late consolation goal by Salem Al-Dawsari was not enough as Saudi Arabia fell 2–1 and were eliminated after finishing last in Group C.

Saudi Arabia, under new manager Roberto Mancini, entered the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Group F with Oman, Kyrgyzstan and Thailand. The Saudis started their campaign with a 2–1 comeback win over neighbour Oman, where Abdulrahman Ghareeb scored from a solo before a late Ali Al-Bulaihi's header sealed the dramatic win. They then achieved a 2–0 win over Kyrgyzstan, where the Saudis were dominant from beginning to end against a nine-man squad. The Saudis rested most of their key players as they held Thailand in a goalless draw to advance and top the group, putting the Saudis against South Korea in the last sixteen. Against South Korea, Abdullah Radif opened the scoring in the first minute of the second half, but after conceding a Cho Gue-sung header in the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time, the game was determined by a penalty shootout after 30 minutes of extra time, where the Saudis lost 4–2 on penalties and were eliminated.

Saudi Arabia struggled in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. After the second round, Saudi Arabia's third round proved troublesome; excluding China as the only team Saudi Arabia grabbed full six points, they obtained only one point against Indonesia along with a 2–0 home loss to Japan, the first time ever Saudi Arabia lost to the Japanese at home. Roberto Mancini was then sacked and Hervé Renard was recalled to salvage Saudi Arabia's campaign, but Saudi Arabia still failed to finish second place behind Australia in the end, resulting in their appearance in the fourth round.

Saudi Arabia participated in their first CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament in 2025, reaching the quarter-finals where they lost 2–0 to Mexico. They then qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in October 2025, following their 3–2 fourth-round win over Indonesia and a goalless draw to Iraq that allowed Saudi Arabia to stay on top by superior goals scored; this is their third consecutive World Cup appearance and seventh overall.

Kits and crests

Traditionally, Saudi Arabia's home kit is white with a green trim, and the away kit is green with a white trim (the Saudi flag colors). The team switched their colors to green as the home and white as the away in 2023.

Kit suppliers

Rivalries

Main article: Iran–Saudi Arabia football rivalry, Iraq–Saudi Arabia football rivalry

Saudi Arabia's main rivals are mostly from the Gulf, notably Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.

Due to historical reasons, matches against Iran have been frequently followed and seen by Saudis as the most important rival. This stems from the strong hatred between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in particular in recent years due to historical enmities. Saudi Arabia has won 6 matches, drew 6 times, and lost 5 against Iran. It is one of the ten most heated rivalries with political influence.

Saudi Arabia's rivalry against Iraq began in the 1970s. Due to the Gulf War, in which Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia's ally Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq eventually became bitter rivals fighting to salvage Arab pride. The two countries since then have been up-and-down in relations, often ranging from lack of cooperation to political confrontation. Iraq almost pulled out of the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup after the country was disallowed to host the competition in a move believed to be motivated by Saudi Arabia.

Outside the Middle East, the Saudis also have established rivalries with South Korea, Japan (including two Asian Cup finals) and most recently Australia.

Venues

Historically, Saudi Arabia played most of their home matches in King Fahd Sports City, located in the capital Riyadh. The stadium was also where some of Saudi Arabia's most important fixtures were played when the country hosted the first three King Fahd Cups (the predecessor of the FIFA Confederations Cup). The stadium was also home to some of Saudi Arabia's matches 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 qualifying first round being played in Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam and the second round being played entirely in Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying second round against Sri Lanka and the first fixture against Uzbekistan in the third round, Saudi Arabia also played in Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Saudi Arabia national football team results (2020–present)

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

2025

• S. Al-Dawsari
• Al-Tombakti
• Al-Saad
• Al-Juwayr
• Al-Aboud
• Al-Aboud
• Metcalfe
• Duke
• Al-Shehri
• Richards
• Al-Buraikan
• Sealy
• Vega
• Madu
• Trajkovski
• Al-Buraikan
• Al-Hamdan
• Chorý
• Al-Hamdan Report (AFC)
• Diks
• Abu Al-Shamat
• Al-Buraikan Report (AFC)
• Abu Al-Shamat
• Mahrez
• Belghali
• Al-Buraikan
• Al-Shehri
• Al-Habashi
• Kanno
• Al-Dawsari
• Dabbagh
• Al-Buraikan
• Kanno

2026

Coaching staff

Coaching history

;Notes

Players

Current squad

• The following 23 players were called up for the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup to be held from 1 to 18 December 2025.

• Caps and goals are correct as of 15 December 2025, after the match against Jordan, as recognized by SAFF.

Recent call-ups

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

• INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
• PRE Preliminary squad.
• RET Retired from the national team.
• SUS Player is serving a suspension.
• WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Player records

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

:*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.

Champion Runners-up Third place

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Saudi Arabia at the FIFA World Cup

AFC Asian Cup

Main article: Saudi Arabia at the AFC Asian Cup

CONCACAF Gold Cup

FIFA Arab Cup

West Asian Football Federation Championship

Gulf Cup

Arab Games

Asian Games

FIFA Confederations Cup

All-time results

Main article: Saudi Arabia national football team results

The following table shows Saudi Arabia's all-time international record, correct as of 15 December 2025.

• Worldfootball.net
• FIFA.com

Honours

Global

• FIFA Confederations Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1992

Intercontinental

• Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
  • Runners-up (2): 1985, 1997

Continental

• AFC Asian Cup
  • [[File:Coppa Asia.svg|25px]] Champions (3): 1984, 1988, 1996
  • Runners-up (3): 1992, 2000, 2007
• Asian Games****1
  • Silver medal (1): 1986
  • Bronze medal (1): 1982

Regional

• Arabian Gulf Cup
  • Champions (3): 1994, 2002, 2003–04
  • Runners-up (7): 1972, 1974, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2019
  • Third place (9): 1970, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2007, 2024–25
• Arab Cup****2
  • Champions (2): 1998, 2002
  • Runners-up (1): 19923
  • Third place (2): 1985, 2025
• Arab Games
  • Silver medal (2): 1976, 19923
  • Bronze medal (1): 2007
• Islamic Solidarity Games
  • Gold medal (1): 2005
• Islamic Games
  • Bronze medal (1): 1980

Awards

• AFC National Team of the Year (1): 1996
• AFC Asian Cup Fair Play Award (1): 2000

Summary

Only official honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation).

;Notes:

1. Competition organized by OCA, officially not recognized by FIFA.
2. Official subregional competition organized and recognized by FIFA since 2021. Previous editions were organized by UAFA.
3. The 1992 Arab Cup also counted as an edition of the Arab Games.

Titles

AFC Asian Cup

1988 (Second title)

Arab Cup

2002 (Second title)

Arabian Gulf Cup

2003–04 (Third title)

References

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