Alert: KSA NT @ World Cup 2022

Discussion in 'Saudi Arabia' started by al ittihady, Apr 3, 2022.

  1. al ittihady

    al ittihady Member

    Jan 5, 2009
    Club:
    Al Ittihad Jeddah
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    Argentina beating Mexico opens the group wide & some tough scenario for KSA NT to qualify to L16:

    - KSA winning against Mexico: Qualify irrespective of other results
    - KSA drawing : Argentina & Poland match should end on tie or Poland should beat Argentina. If the match ends in tie then GD will play huge role in deciding who qualfies.

    KSA have nothing to loose & should play freely without pressure.
     
  2. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    The pressure is more on Mexico as compared to Saudi Arabia.
    The Mexican Coach wants to win by minimum 3 goals against Saudi Arabia which implies, that Mexico will be playing an attacking game and there will be opportunity of counter-attacking from Saudi Arabia (similar to Argentina game).

    This may well go down to the wire and if Saudi wins by a solitary goal then that should be enough for Saudi Arabia to qualify to next round.

    So, here are the scenario:

    1. If ARG x POL is a draw then Saudi Arabia needs to win by 1 goal or Mexico needs to win by 3 goal to qualify. So, Poland and winner of KSA v MEX will qualify
    2. If POL wins then Saudi Arabia needs to draw the match with Mexico to qualify while Mexico will need to win by a solitary goal to qualify
    3. If Arg wins then both Saudi Arabia and Mexico will need to win for either of them to qualify else, Poland will qualify despite the loss
    So, Saudi requires a draw if Argentina losses, and need to win against Mexico if anyone from Arg and Pol wins.
     
  3. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    The last time Saudi Arabia played against Mexico in an official FIFA tournament was in Confederation Cup on 26/07/1999 which Mexico won 5-1

    So, if Mexico coach is saying that Mexico will need minimum 3 goals against Saudi Arabia then Mexico is well and capable of doing it.

    However, times have changed and it's Saudi Arabia who needs to be more brave as playing in Qatar is as good as playing on home ground and Saudi Arabia has the talent and team that can cause yet another upset by beating Mexico, In Sha Allah
     
  4. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    Historically, Saudi Arabia played against Mexico 3 FIFA official matches, and have never won any match.

    Saudi Arabia hardly scored only 1 goal against Mexico while Mexico scored 12 goals against Saudi Arabia.

    Following are the previous meetings result between both teams:

    Friday 06/1/1995 - Confederations Cup

    Mexico 2 : 0 Saudi Arabia
    HT: 0-0

    Sunday 14/12/1997 - Confederations Cup

    Saudi Arabia 0 : 5 Mexico
    0 : 1 Halftime

    Sunday 25/7/1999 - Confederations Cup

    Mexico 5 : 1 Saudi Arabia
    3 : 0 Halftime


    So, what result are you expecting in last group match of Saudi Arabia?
     
  5. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
  6. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
  7. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
  8. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
  9. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
  10. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
  11. sahbekham_pactwinner

    Jun 12, 2005
    We had a great chance of making it to the round of 16. But we missed it. I don't know how. But we missed it. o_O Next up would have been Australia. Damn!:notworthy:
    With 4/5 injuries. It was a completely different team. We had no depth at all.
    But I enjoyed that first match with Argentina. So its all good. :)
    Hopefully we do better in 2026.
    I think we should give this coach one more chance. Even though he was not prepared how to handle the team with injuries.
    Anyways. Peace out guys.
     
  12. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    The mistake made was to go & play an attacking game against Poland to get 6 points and qualify on end of match day-2. This was a mistake, should have had played for a draw in that match so that pressure would had only been to get a draw in last match against Mexico, and even if lose by 1 or 2 goals then still qualify to next round. Missed the opportunity by going on the moon after beating Argentina but came back crashing down to earth with loss against Poland and got buried in grave after Mexico game.

    Also, Mexico showed so much stamina and showed Saudi Arabia how to play a high tempo game which Saudi Arabia lacks big time.

    Anyhow, wonder who would be no more part of Saudi Arabian team as the players over 30 years age would get retired before 2026 world cup. Hope Salem, Kanu, Shehri, Maliki stay though and Saudi gets good replacement of others over 30 years age such as Yasser Al Shahrani, Salman Al Faraj, etc.
     
  13. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    Saudi Arabia should now start to focus more on building strong, energetic national team (similar to Mexico) instead of concentrating on club football. Also, should play as much as friendly matches against big teams like Mexico, Canada, US, Ukraine, Italy, etc., every quarter in a year to keep the national team in rhythm. This is how Japan & South Korea build strong national team, respectively.
     
  14. Sa4lyfUk

    Sa4lyfUk New Member

    Liverpool FC
    Saudi Arabia
    Dec 1, 2022
    Hi Bros, I was born Saudi to bangladeshi parent but a British now. I have supporting the green falcons ever since 2002 when I was 5-6 years old and not gonna lie this is the best football I have seen us play in a while and I hope Hervé stays at the relm till the next world cup.
    By the way I was wondering if players like Kanno, Saud Abdulhamid, Salem and Al-malki have they got any transfer offers from Europe? If we send Saudi players abroad mark my words we would be a serious contender for quarters next world cup and definitely a favourite in the Asia cup too. Shukran
     
  15. Kamtedrejt

    Kamtedrejt Member+

    Internazionale Milano
    Albania
    Mar 14, 2017
    Hamburg
    Club:
    FC Internazionale Milano
    Nat'l Team:
    Albania
  16. al ittihady

    al ittihady Member

    Jan 5, 2009
    Club:
    Al Ittihad Jeddah
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    There are rumors already about Saud Abdul Hamid. Not sure Salem will be in the list as he's 31.

    Kanoo and Malki might get some chance too
     
  17. al ittihady

    al ittihady Member

    Jan 5, 2009
    Club:
    Al Ittihad Jeddah
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    Saudi NT again embarrass themselves in the last match day. Had it not been Owais there was big victory written all over.

    HR gamble did not pay off for playing Saud in the midfield. He had tried this against Japan too & had lost but lesson should have been learnt that time.

    Some positives taking from this campaign is few players like Saud, Tambakti, Amri, Feras, Kanoo, Malki, Sultan will get chance to shine again 2026 and will have experience in playing on big stages.

    As for the coach, I am big supporter if someone local takes over now instead of relying on foreign ones and gather the team for 2026. Saad Sehri will be good candidate along with few others. They have Asian Cup and Gulf Cup to test the waters.

    Lastly, it will be formidable to see how the players who are playing with European teams under scholarship program turn up and perform for the NT. I believe some contribution should be there consedring the amount of players that are playing currently in Belgium, Serbia and other leagues.
     
  18. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    Who is playing? Any name? and video clips?
     
  19. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia


    See the match clip at 1 minute and 14 seconds (46th minute and 19 seconds of the match); you can clearly see that the Mexican Captain Lazano instructed his team to take short corner i.e., instead of shooting the ball from the corner into D, the captain asked to keep it just slightly before the D so that a well positioned Mexican player can flick it in the D for another Mexican player to tab or hit the ball into goal...

    Just review it on 46'19" and see how Mexico scored the goal on set piece.

    Mexico score both goal through set pieces and not through open play. Saudi scored through open play at the end of the match...

    Also, Saudi defender AlGhannam is Stupid (sorry to say this but have to) since he had 2 chances inside the Mexican penalty box and he missed both of them. In the last chance, he will only required to head the ball to far off for a well positioned & well placed Saudi player to head the ball into goal but Ghannam tried to be over clever and tried to head the ball in the goal from very tight angle which off course he missed. See the clip at 2 minutes & 48 seconds (54th minute of the match) to understand what should have had been done by him and what he did horribly wrong.
     
  20. hammad_friend

    hammad_friend Member

    Dec 26, 2005
    Dubai, Karachi
    Club:
    Al Hilal Riyadh
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    Following are the current age of Saudi NT players at the end of FIFA World Cup 2022.

    Who do you feel will be available for services in next World Cup to be held jointly by Canada, Mexico & USA in 2026?

    If Christiano Ronaldo can appear in 2022 world cup at age 37 and Lionel Messi at age 35 then Saudi player with current age of 34 should be available for services (IMO):

    Fowards:

    1. Saleh Al Shehri - 29 yrs
    2. Haitham Asiri - 21 yrs
    3. Firas Al-Buraikan - 22 yrs
    4. Abdul Rahman Al Aboud - 27 yrs

    Midfielders:

    1. Sami Al-Najei - 22 yrs
    2. Salman Al-Faraj - 33 yrs (will be his last world cup at 37 yrs in 2026 - if considered for NT duty)
    3. Salem Al-Dawsari - 31 yrs (will be his last world cup at 35 yrs in 2026)
    4. Riyadh Sharahili - 29 yrs (did not impress in the match against Mexico and doesn't look like deserving to be a part of Saudi NT, club level may be but not fit for National Team role)
    5. Nawaf Al-Abed - 32 yrs (will be his last world cup at 36 yrs in 2026 - if considered for NT duty)
    6. Nasser Al-Dawsari - 23 yrs
    7. Mohamed Kano - 28 yrs
    8. Hattan Bahebri - 30 yrs
    9. Ali Al-Hassan - 25 yrs
    10. Abdullah Otayf - 30 yrs
    11. Abdulellah Al-Malki - 28 yrs

    Defenders:

    1. Yasser Al-Shahrani - 30 yrs (will be his last world cup at 34 yrs in 2026)
    2. Sultan Al-Ghannam - 28 yrs (played selfishly in front of goal against Mexico instead of passing the ball towards far end of the post for free Saudi player to score a goal as free header against Mexico)
    3. Saud Abdulhamid - 23 yrs
    4. Mohammed Al-Briek - 30 yrs (will be his last world cup at 36 yrs in 2026 - if considered for NT duty)
    5. Hassan Tumbakti - 23 yrs
    6. Ali Al-Bulaihi - 33 yrs (will be his last world cup at 37 yrs in 2026 - if considered for NT duty)
    7. Abdullah Madu - 29 yrs
    8. Abdulelah Al-Amri - 25 yrs

    Goal Keeper:

    1. Nawaf Al-Aqidi - 22 yrs
    2. Mohammed Al-Owais - 31 yrs (will be his last world cup at 35 yrs in 2026)
    3. Mohammed Al-Rubaie - 25 yrs
     
  21. Sa4lyfUk

    Sa4lyfUk New Member

    Liverpool FC
    Saudi Arabia
    Dec 1, 2022
    Was wondering anything in terms of transfer offers has come up to Abdulhamid or Kanno? I think there were rumours of Kanno to Turkish league giants fenerbahce and Saud Abdulhamid to 3 European teams. Maybe as Saudi fans we should start a petition to send talents abroad otherwise we can't compete with Egypt Algeria and Morocco in the region and Australia, Japan and south Korea in Asia. Shukran
     
  22. al ittihady

    al ittihady Member

    Jan 5, 2009
    Club:
    Al Ittihad Jeddah
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    I don't think any Saudi players will ever go to Europe in near future.

    Yes they are always talks and rumors about this player that player but never materialize as they get paid more when they receive a substantial offer.

    This WC has actually has been a lesson for KSA NT that you need players playing abroad to carry high pressure matches. Morocco is prime example for it now.
     
  23. LandingMines

    LandingMines New Member

    Al Hilal
    Saudi Arabia
    Dec 23, 2022
    Yeah. I think if we’re being honest the following should really be playing at Europe at this point in their careers

    Saud Abdulhamid
    Kano
    Faraj
    Salem

    etc.

    People always say Saudi player is not built physically that’s why we haven’t see our players in Europe but it’s all excuses to mask the real problem. Seriously, Mohammad Noor dominated a good chunk of European footballer physically during the World Cup he was part of.. He was that strong.

    The real reason you will never see Saudi players in Europe is Culture and the Saudi League business structure.

    In other countries, they make a business selling younger stars or younger aspiring players. In Saudi Alhilal-AlNasr- Itti etc...that’s not really their business model. Most of their income come from the league itself.


    Culture is another thing - it is somewhat sinful to leave Al-Hilal. If you’re a big time Saudi name, don’t expect the clubs to be welcoming if you failed in Europe.

    in other words, if you want to see Saudis playing in Europe - The clubs have to be willing to release their best players
     
  24. LandingMines

    LandingMines New Member

    Al Hilal
    Saudi Arabia
    Dec 23, 2022
    Obviously Faraj, Salem etc won’t be playing in Europe anymore. They’re old.

    but Kano, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Al Ameri - Possibly Al Maliki, Ayman Yahya, Najei and etc have enough talent to be playing mid table Turkish-French-Dutch club and Abdulhamid - Kano have both skill, physicallity etc to probably play mid table English and Spanish league.

    But media always trying to mask the truth and blame it on the palyers
     
  25. al ittihady

    al ittihady Member

    Jan 5, 2009
    Club:
    Al Ittihad Jeddah
    Nat'l Team:
    Saudi Arabia
    Ofcourse the major problems lie somewhere else but we can't rule out players physical readiness. I have come across several interviews during the stint of Saudi players in the europe league during the last WC. Most of the coaches liked the players interms of techinque but physically they were too aggresive in comments. For Example: Ali Nemer was told he can't play for more than 10 minutes in full league match. The only player which was appreciated was Salem Dawsari but rest of them failed badly.

    The clubs have hired tons of foreign big name coaches in the past couple of years but none of them tried to lure in players into there clubs when they moved back to Europe to continue coaching. We see how Mourinho, Ancelloti takes players whereever they go.

    I had chance to talk to Razvan Lucescu and Jose Peserio. They both talked the same about the saudi players about technicality but lacked physical readiness. Also, they said players are too impatient to sit on bench which cannot be accepted in Europe leagues.

    I believe its the overall mentality which needs to be changed among the players, coaches and the clubs overall. Like you mentioned, its sin to leave Hilal but its sin too that whenever you play for clubs like Tawoon, Ittifaq etc & you get offer from Hilal and a European club, you choose Hilal to get fame but will ignore European league just coz they make you work hard.

    Lastly, the scholarship program which has sent lots of players in mid tier leagues in Europe have no visibility of how they are doing and progressing interms of playing style
     

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