DUBAI: Saudi Arabia national team boss Edgardo Bauza has announced a 30-man squad for the team’s 12-day training camp in Portugal, the first part of the Green Falcons’ preparations for the World Cup in Russia.
Bauza’s men are currently in Lisbon, where they face Latvia on Tuesday before traveling north to Viseu to take on Cristiano Ronaldo-less Portugal on Friday. The tour concludes back in Lisbon with a third friendly against Bulgaria on Nov. 13
The Argentine could hand debuts to as many as five players during the trip; Al-Fateh winger Ali Al-Zaqaan and his club teammate Nooh Al-Mousa impressed since the start of the season, earning their first call-ups, while Al-Ettifaq forward Hazza Al-Hazzaa replaces Al-Nassr’s Mohammed Al-Sahlawi whose 16 goals during the qualifiers campaign were not enough to convince Bauza after an indifferent start to his league season. Al-Qadisiyah center-back Mohamed Khabrani was a late addition to the squad after Al-Hilal’s Abdullah Al-Hafith withdrew with an injury. Finally, 23-year-old Al-Shabab midfielder Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaihem rounds off the list of new call-ups to the Saudi squad.
Vitesse Arnhem midfielder Mukhtar Ali, who had made his debut under Bauza last month, was left to join the Under-23 national team preparing for the AFC Asian Cup in China.
Despite the absence of star playmaker Nawaf Al-Abid alongside Al-Hafith due to injuries and Bauza’s decision not to select left-back Abdullah Al-Zori, the Saudi squad continues to be largely built around Al-Hilal players, with nine members of the group in Lisbon plying their trade at the AFC Champions League finalists. One Al-Hilal player whose selection raises question marks is striker Mukhtar Fallatah. The 30-year-old has not featured for a single minute in the league since his summer transfer to the Riyadh-based side. He also failed to score in his eight national team appearances so far, the last of which came 18 months ago.
Saudi Arabia’s attacking struggles run deeper than Fallatah, though. Mohanad Assiri, who also made the flight to Lisbon, plays second fiddle to Syria’s Omar Al-Soma at club level and has started only two games for Al-Ahli this season, failing to find the net in both.
The lack of a proven goalscorer did not deter Saudi from scoring in every single one of their qualifying campaign; 14 of Al-Sahlawi’s 16 goals came in the second round of the qualifiers against lowly opponents Palestine, Malaysia and Timor-Leste. In the decisive third round, against the likes of Japan and Australia, strikers contributed just three goals.
Fahad Al-Muwallad, who scored the goal that confirmed Saudi Arabia’s qualification to Russia, misses out through injury and Bauza will look to explore other options in attacking midfield. Salem Al-Dawsari, one of the star of Al-Hilal’s run to the Champions League final is the obvious choice alongside Al-Nassr’s Yahya Al-Shehri, but Al-Ahli duo Abdelfattah Assiri and Salman Al-Moashir will be on standby to make an impression on the flanks when called upon. Further back, the two central defense spots have often been occupied by two of the Hawsawi trio; Osama, Omar and Motaz. Osama is the captain and the most experienced of the bunch and was ever-present under previous coach Bert Van Marwijk, but his aging legs are a reason for concern, especially should he come up against pacey strikers in Russia next ­summer.