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Saudi Arabia

FIFA World Ranking: 67
Qualifying Average Goals Per Match: 2.50
Qualifying Average Goals Against Per Match: 0.78
Qualifying Top Scorer: Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (16)
World Cup Best Performance: Last 16 (1994)

Group A Opponents: Egypt, Russia and Uruguay.

The Manager: Juan Antonio Pizzi
Saudi Arabia have hardly had the ideal tournament preparation in this regard. Bert van Marwijk was the man to guide them through qualifying only to then be sacked. Replacement Edgardo Bauza stuck around for all of two games, so the baton now falls to Pizzi. Born in Argentina but capped 22 times for Spain, Pizzi achieved his best result as a manager in his sole International assignment to date when guiding Chile to 2016 Copa America glory.

The Squad:
The vast majority of the squad are based in the weak Saudi Arabian league which is a concern. The Saudi Arabian FA clearly agreed with that assessment; brokering a deal with sides in La Liga to take a number of their international players on loan in a bid to give them experience at a higher level. That hasn’t exactly gone to plan though, as barring fleeting substitute appearances, the on-loan players have remained largely unused by the Spanish sides. Hardly a ringing endorsement of their ability.

They do have plenty of experience at the back and in midfield at least with Osama Hawsawi and Taisir Al-Jassam boasting over 250 caps between them. Neither player can be said to be in their prime though and a lack of pace at the heart of the back four looks a particular concern.

Whilst slow at the back, the Green Falcon’s do have plenty of pace up front and on the wings. Expect Pizzi to set up his troops to be tough to break down and look to utilise the speed of the likes of Yahya Al Shehri and Fahad Al Muwallad to attack on the break.

Star Man: Mohammed Al-Sahlawi
Mohammed Al-Sahlawi grabbed the most goals in qualifying, but they came largely in an extremely weak opening qualification group. Mohamed Al-Abed has been the man to step up when needed, scoring goals at crucial times during the second – more difficult – qualifying phase. If Saudi Arabia are to perform above expectations, he looks most likely to be the man leading the way from midfield.

Outlook:
The one thing in Saudi Arabia’s favour is the fact that they are just about the biggest unknown quantity in the competition and may benefit from the element of surprise. Should they get anything from their opener against the hosts, a result against a Mohamed Salah-less Egypt may not be beyond them. Ultimately though, they are the lowest ranked side in the competition for a reason and can be expected to struggle.

Group A Prediction: http://fastgoal.com/forum/index.php?topic=2437.0

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