Saudi Senior National Football Team

The Saudi Senior National Football Team is the official team representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in regional and international football competitions for men, under the supervision of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation since its establishment during the reign of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz on June 9, 1956. It joined the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in that year.

The uniform of the Saudi senior national team embodies the culture of the Kingdom and reflects its identity through the green and white colors representative of its flag. Over the years, the Saudi senior national team's uniform has undergone changes while preserving its fundamental colors. It consists of a home kit worn by players when the team hosts a match, while the away kit is used when the team plays as a guest or when there is a color clash with the host team's kit.  

The Saudi senior national team is unofficially nicknamed by fans and media with titles such as al-Suqour Al-Khodhur (the Green Falcons), al-Akhdar (the Green), and al-Suqour (the Falcons).

Since the establishment of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, the Saudi senior national team has participated in all the qualifying rounds for the World Cup. However, it has not succeeded in reaching the World Cup finals in the following years (1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2010, and 2014) due to its inability to advance through the Asian qualifying rounds for the World Cup.

The Saudi senior national team managed to qualify for the World Cup finals six times throughout its history, as follows:

The Saudi senior national team participated in the qualifiers for the World Cup hosted by the United States in 1994. The first round of qualifiers took place in Kuala Lumpur, where the Saudi team won their opening match against Macau with a score of six goals to nil, drew with Kuwait's team nil-nil, and drew one goal apiece with the Malaysian team. The second-round matches were held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where the Saudi team topped the group after winning three consecutive matches against Macau, Malaysia, and Kuwait.

The knockout stage of the qualifiers took place in Doha, where the Saudi senior national team drew nil-nil with Japan, won against North Korea with two goals to one, then drew one goal apiece against Iraq and South Korea. They secured victory against the Iranian team with four goals to three, qualifying for the World Cup finals for the first time.

In the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, the Saudi senior national team achieved a surprise by qualifying for the round of sixteen for the first time in the tournament's history. Despite starting the tournament with a loss against the Netherlands with a score of two goals to one, they won against Morocco in the second match with a score of two goals to one. They also secured a one-nil victory against Belgium, advancing to the round of sixteen. They faced Sweden but lost the match three goals to one, leading to their elimination from the tournament.

The Saudi senior national team in the World Cup hosted by France in 1998. (SPA)

The Saudi senior national team began their qualification campaign for the 1998 World Cup in Shah Alam, Malaysia, where they secured a two-nil victory against the Chinese Taipei team. They then drew nil-nil with the Malaysian team and scored four goals against the Bangladesh team. The Saudi team continued their winning streak in the return matches in Jeddah City, defeating both the Malaysian and Bangladesh teams with three-nil victories, and scoring six clean goals against the Chinese Taipei team.

In the second stage, they won the first leg against the Kuwait team with two goals to one, drew one-all with Iran in Tehran then lost to China in Dalian with a one-nil scoreline. They secured a victory in Riyadh against Qatar with one goal but suffered a two-one defeat against Kuwait in the return leg in Kuwait. They later won against Iran with a clean goal in Riyadh, drew one-all with China in Riyadh, and clinched a one-nil victory against the Qatar team in Doha.

In the 1998 World Cup hosted by France, the Saudi senior national team exited the group stage. They lost one-nil against Denmark and suffered a four-nil defeat against France in their second match. They concluded their matches with a two-all draw against South Africa, bidding farewell to the World Cup at the group stage.

The Saudi senior national team participated in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup hosted by Japan and South Korea. Topping their group, they scored six goals in their first match against Mongolia in Dammam. They also defeated Bangladesh three-nil and secured a five-nil victory against Vietnam. They repeated their success with another six-goal victory against Mongolia in the return match and scored six goals against Bangladesh. They concluded with a significant win over Vietnam, securing a four-nil victory.

In the second Asian round, the Saudi senior national team drew one-one with Bahrain in Riyadh, lost two-nil against Iran in Tehran, secured a clean goal against Iraq in Manama, and defeated Thailand in Bangkok three goals to one. They then won four-nil against Bahrain in Manama and drew two-two against Iran in Jeddah. In their match against Iraq in Amman, they won two goals to one and secured a four-one victory against Thailand in Riyadh, officially qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

For the third consecutive time, the Saudi senior national team participated in the 2002 World Cup hosted by Japan and South Korea. However, they exited the group stage after losing their first match against Germany with a score of eight-nil. They also lost to Cameroon with a clean goal and concluded their journey in the 2002 World Cup with a three-nil defeat against the Republic of Ireland, exiting the group stage in this edition.

A snapshot from the match between the Saudi senior national team and the Spanish team in the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany. (SPA)

In the preliminary qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the Saudi senior national team defeated Indonesia with three goals to nil in Riyadh. They also secured a one-nil victory against Sri Lanka and won three-nil against Turkmenistan in Riyadh. The return match against Turkmenistan in Ashgabat ended with a one-nil win. They triumphed over Indonesia with three goals to one in Jakarta and concluded the first round with a three-goal victory over Sri Lanka in Dammam.

In the second stage of the qualifiers, the Saudi senior national team drew one goal each with the Uzbekistan team in Tashkent, won against South Korea with two goals to nil in Dammam, and had a scoreless draw with Kuwait in Kuwait. In the return matches, they won with three goals against the Kuwaiti team and repeated the victory with three goals against the Uzbekistan team. In their last match against South Korea in Seoul, they won by a single goal, securing qualification for the World Cup for the fourth consecutive time.

In the 2006 World Cup finals, they started their matches with a draw against the Tunisian team, with two goals each, in the city of Munich. However, they suffered a defeat against Ukraine with a scoreline of four-nil in Hamburg. Their journey in the World Cup came to an end after losing to the Spanish national team with a score of one-nil in Kaiserslautern.

The Saudi senior national team against the Egyptian national team in the World Cup hosted by Russia in 2018. (SPA)

In the preliminary qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, the Saudi senior national team won against the Palestinian team with three goals to two in Dammam. They scored seven clean goals against the East Timor team in Jeddah. They also won against the Malaysian team with three goals to nil in Shah Alam, Malaysia. The Saudi team continued their victories by defeating the United Arab Emirates team with two goals to one in Jeddah. They had a goalless draw with the Palestinian team in Amman and won against the East Timor team with ten goals to nil in Dili. Then they won against the Malaysian team with two clean goals in Jeddah. The first round concluded with a one-one draw against the United Arab Emirates team in Abu Dhabi.

In the second round of qualifiers, the Saudi senior national team won with a goal against the Thai team and secured a two-one victory against Iraq in Shah Alam, Malaysia. They drew two goals each against the Australian team in Jeddah and won with three goals to nil against the United Arab Emirates team. However, they suffered a two-one defeat against the Japanese team in Saitama. In the return matches, they won with three goals against the Thai team in Bangkok and secured a one-nil victory against Iraq in Jeddah. Unfortunately, they lost three-two against the Australian team in Adelaide and suffered a two-one defeat against the United Arab Emirates team in al-Ain. Nevertheless, they won against the Japanese team with a clean goal in Jeddah, qualifying for the World Cup finals for the fifth time.

In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Saudi senior national team played the opening match against the Russian team but lost by five goals to nil. This was followed by another defeat against Uruguay with a one-nil score. In the final match, they won against Egypt with two goals to one but were eliminated from the group stage.

The Saudi senior national team participated in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The qualifying campaign began with a two-two draw against Yemen in the away match in Manama. They then secured a three-nil victory against Singapore in Buraydah and had a goalless draw against Palestine in Ramallah. In Tashkent, they won three-two against Uzbekistan. In the return leg in Riyadh, the Saudi team scored five goals against Palestine with no reply and won three-nil against Yemen. However, they suffered a three-nil defeat to Singapore. They advanced to the second round after defeating Uzbekistan three-nil.

In the second round of qualifiers, the Saudi senior national team won three-one against Vietnam in Riyadh, and secured a one-nil victory against Oman in Muscat. They also won one-nil against Japan in Jeddah and secured a three-two victory against China, also in Jeddah. However, they drew nil-nil with Australia in Sydney. In the return matches, they won one-nil against Vietnam in Hanoi, and one-nil against Oman in Jeddah. Nevertheless, they lost two-nil against Japan in Saitama, drew one-one with China in Sharjah, and won one-nil against Australia in Jeddah, securing their sixth appearance in the World Cup finals.

Celebration of the Saudi senior national team players after winning against the Argentine team in the 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar. (SPA)

In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Saudi senior national team began their campaign with a historic victory over the Argentine team with two goals to one. However, they suffered a two-nil defeat in their match against the Polish team. This was followed by another loss against Mexico with a score of two goals to one, resulting in their elimination from the group stage.

There are many milestones in the history of the Saudi senior national team's participation, whether at the continental, Arab, or Gulf levels, including:

The Saudi senior national team clinched the AFC Asian Cup title three times. The first triumph was in 1984 when they defeated the Chinese team in the final match with two goals to nil at the National Stadium in Singapore. They secured their second Asian Cup title in 1988 after winning a penalty shootout against South Korea, with a score of four goals to three, in a tournament hosted by Qatar. Their third title came in the 1996 Asian Cup held in the United Arab Emirates, where they won against the United Arab Emirates team with a penalty shootout of four goals to two after a four-four draw in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, the Saudi team achieved runner-up positions in the Asian Cup tournaments in 1992 in Japan, 2000 in Lebanon, and 2007 in Indonesia.

On the Arab level, the Saudi senior national team won the Arab Cup title in 1998, after defeating the Qatari team three goals to one in Doha. They clinched the title for the second time in 2002, winning one-nil against Bahrain in Kuwait.

On the Gulf level, the Saudi senior national team won the Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time in 1994, in the United Arab Emirates. They secured their second title when they hosted the tournament in 2002. Additionally, the Saudi team clinched the Gulf Cup for the third time in 2003, in Kuwait.

The Saudi senior national team achieved the runner-up position in the Gulf Cup tournament in 1972, 1974, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2019.