After two decades of absence from the coronation, the Saudi national team is searching for the Gulf Football Cup title, which begins tomorrow in Kuwait, in light of its fluctuating results in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
So far, the Green Falcons have settled for six points from six matches in the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, which they will host for the first time in their history in 2034.
Saudi Arabia, which is participating for the 25th time in the tournament and was crowned three times in 1994, 2002 and 2003, and only missed once in 1990 in Kuwait, was placed in a second group that includes defending champion Iraq, Bahrain and Yemen.
The last edition played with a reserve team under the leadership of coach, Saad Al-Shehri, and was eliminated in the group stage, and then included Musab Al-Jawir and Nawaf Al-Aqidi, who were already on the list of French coach Herve Renard, who returned after the Italian coach, Roberto Mancini’s squad, floundered in the World Cup qualifiers.
The Saudi Green will compete in the Gulf 26 competitions with its basic strength, with the exception of the professional players in Europe, given the lack of an international pause in the current period by the International Federation (FIFA), in order to increase harmony between the team members and the technical staff before the final stage of the World Cup qualifiers.
Crowning and development
The coach of the Saudi national team, the Frenchman Herve Renard, confirmed that his goal is to win the title and said: “Our goal is to win the 26th Gulf title, and we also have a bigger mission, which is to develop the team before the World Cup qualifiers.”
Renard, who first coached Saudi Arabia between 2019 and 2023, before taking over as coach of the French women’s national team, continued: “I must think about giving all the players a chance to participate in the 26th Gulf Championship, but our main goal is to win, especially since we lost the title in the last participation.”
The specter of injuries haunted the Saudi national team, as the chances of Salem Al-Dosari (33 years old) to participate in the first round were reduced after he suffered facial fractures in the local league.
Renard (56 years old) excluded defender Abdul-Ilah Al-Omari from the Riyadh camp, based on the medical report and his need for a treatment and rehabilitation program, so he decided to include the player Aoun Al-Salouli in the green camp.
The French coach explained: “The young people who are with us deserve this, and it does not make sense to call up a player over 30 years old and put him on the bench, so it is important that there is a mixture of youth and experience.”
The Saudi “Al-Akhdar” team will miss the professional trio, Faisal Al-Ghamdi, and his Belgian teammate in Berschot, Marwan Al-Sahafi, in addition to Saud Abdul-Hamid, the Italian full-back for Roma, who became the first Saudi player to score in European championships, due to their association with their clubs.
Renard commented on the trio’s professionalism, “I follow them a lot, and it is important for the Saudi player to be aware of the difference between professionalism in Europe and elsewhere, and we will miss them in the Gulf Cup.”
The three-time Gulf Cup holder completed its preparations by playing a friendly match on Tuesday, in which it defeated Trinidad and Tobago 3-1, with goals from Saleh Al Shehri, Abdullah Al Hamdan and Nasser Al Dosari.
. .
