DUBAI: The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) has announced a rookie 24-man national team squad for the Gulf Cup in Kuwait later this month.
Only five players from Edgardo Bauza’s last squad before his sacking retained their spot in the new-look squad: Left-back Abdulrahman Al-Obaid, midfielders Nouh Al-Mousa and Salman Al-Moasher, in addition to strikers Mukhtar Fallatah and Hazza Al-Hazza.
The squad only has 73 caps between them, and 33 of those belong to Ahmed Al-Fraidi. Only two players over the age of 30 have been called up and only two players in the squad have scored for their country. As many as 14 players could make their national-team debut in the tournament.
“You will see a different team in Kuwait,” tweeted Turki Al Al-Shaikh, Head of the General Sports Authority.
In a surprising move, Croatian boss Krunoslav Jurcic was chosen as the man to take the largely inexperienced squad to Kuwait, instead of the newly appointed national team coach Juan Antonio Pizzi.
Spokesman Mohamed Al-Shaikh said that the SAFF was not disrespecting the competition by sending a second-string team. “This selection does not mean that we underestimate the competition,” he said. “It is part of the strategy agreed with coach Pizzi.”
Jurcic was recruited earlier this year to lead “the talents team,” a parallel national team composed mainly of talented Saudi-born youngsters between the ages of 18 and 22 identified by the national scouting committee. The team is meant to serve as a pipeline to supply talent from lower divisions and non-league football to the national team.
This squad is the first indication of that pathway bearing fruit. Six youngsters born in Saudi Arabia to foreign parents have been included, including trio Hammam Al-Ajaj, Ali Al-Nimr and Ali Yahya, who all hail from Yemeni families. Ahmed Ashraf has also been called up. He was born in the Kingdom to Egyptian parents.
The US-based Faris Abdi and Vitesse Arnhem’s Mukhtar Ali, who are both expected to be fast-tracked into the national team set-up, miss out on selection, however. Ali, the former Chelsea midfielder, remains with his club side in Holland as the competition falls outside of FIFA’s coordinated international match calendar.
Both players are expected to feature in the Saudi Arabia squad participating in the AFC Under-23 Championship in China next month.
Saudi Arabia names young Gulf Cup squad
Saudi Arabia names young Gulf Cup squad
Al-Qadsiah’s SPL match postponed as Damac clinch victory in relegation six-pointer
- Damac secure 3-0 victory against Al-Riyadh in Abha
- Al-Kholood vs. Al-Qadsiah postponed until March 7
DAMMAM: Much has changed since the conclusion of Matchday 24 in the Saudi Pro League last Saturday. Several nations across the Middle East have postponed their leagues indefinitely, with the war in the region even threatening West Asia’s participation across all levels of AFC competitions for the upcoming knockout stages.
The Saudi Pro League was one of the few to continue without pause, with Matchday 25 scheduled to kick off on Thursday as Damac welcomed Al-Riyadh and Al-Qadsiah travelled to Qassim to face Al-Kholood. Or, so Saudi Pro League fans thought.
Hours before Al-Kholood and Al-Qadsiah were set to kick off, the hosts announced that they had received a notification from the Saudi Pro League confirming their match was postponed Saturday, March 7, due to the cancellation of Al-Qadsiah’s flight to Qassim.
That meant that Thursday featured the sole encounter between Damac and Al-Riyadh, with Friday and Saturday set to host four matches each.
Both Damac and Al-Riyadh have endured difficult seasons. They two sides were level on 16 points prior before the meeting in Abha, and both had suffered similar 1-0 defeats to Al-Ahli in recent weeks — matches in which each felt unlucky not to come away with at least a point.
That said, it was Damac who controlled proceedings for most of the evening. Mauricio Dulac set the visitors up in their traditional 5-4-1, with Mamadou Sylla leading the line.
Damac, meanwhile, looked to break them down centrally, operating in a 4-3-1-2 that gave Valentín Vada freedom behind Yakou Méïté and Mohammad Al-Salkhadi. They were aided by Jonathan Okita’s dangerous runs from deep, which ultimately changed the course of the match.
After initial attempts to find the in-form Méïté in the air through a series of crosses, Damac shifted their focus to one of their other strengths: attacking through the middle.
A calculated long ball from Jamal Harkass found Okita breaking into the space in the Al-Riyadh defence, as the Congolese midfielder controlled the ball with a fine touch before firing past Milan Borjan in 35th minute.
Damac extended their dominance after the interval. In the 53rd minute, another Harkass long ball created danger — this time with Méïté holding the ball up before Al-Salkhadi threaded a pass through to Vada, who calmly finished to double the lead.
At the hour mark, Sanousi Al-Hawsawi effectively sealed the match as he met Abdulrahman Al-Obaid’s corner with a towering header, giving Damac a crucial victory and lifting them three points away from the relegation zone.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Hilal hosting Al-Najma, Al-Khaleej facing Al-Hazem, Al-Taawoun taking on Al-Fateh, and the Sea Derby between Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad kicking off at 10:00pm.
