Saudi Arabia

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The priority for the 'Sons of the Desert' next summer is to redeem Saudi football in the eyes of the world after the 2002 debacle in Japan and that game with Germany. Three games, no goals scored and 12 conceded equalled disaster and humiliation for the team that became only the second Asian nation to reach the second round in 1994.

The results four years ago could work in the country's favour if other teams take them too lightly. That would be a mistake as since being appointed as the team's coach in October 2004, Gabriel Calderon has exuded an air of efficiency. His team certainly did as it strolled through qualification unbeaten, six games that included a pair of wins over South Korea. Since qualification and the World Cup draw, the Saudi's have sacked Calderon and replaced him with Brazilian Marcos Paqueta for the World Cup 2006 finals.

The Saudi Arabian team has a strong spine with a strong Al-Ittihad flavour. Mabrouk Zaid in goal, defender Hamad Al-Montashari and midfield general Mohammed Noor all play for the Asian champions. In attack, veteran striker Sami Al-Jaber will want to finish a fourth World Cup in style while young partner Yasser Al-Qahtani looks to have a bright future.

Coach: Marcos Paqueta (BRA)
FIFA Ranking: 32

Saudi Arabia Matches

Match #	Date & Time	Group	Teams		Result	Venue
16	Wed 14th Jun 18:00	H	TUN	KSA	2 - 2	Munich
32	Mon 19th Jun 18:00	H	KSA	UKR	0 - 4	Hamburg
47	Fri 23rd Jun 16:00	H	KSA	ESP	0 - 1	Kaiserslautern

Match times shown are local times for Germany (CEST/GMT+0200). Click on match date/time to view match statistics.

Past World Cup performance

First Round: 1998, 2002
Second Round: 1994

Key Players

Sami Al-Jaber

World Cup 2006 Qualification

An unbeaten qualifying campaign finishing top of Asian Qualifying Stage 2 Group A ahead of Korea Republic.

Squad

						Total		World Cup 2006
#	Posn	Name	DOB	Club		Caps	Goals	Pld	Goals	OG	YC	RC
1	GK	Al Deayea Mohammed	02-08-1972	Al Hilal	KSA	181	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	Dokhi Ahmed	25-10-1976	Al Ittihad	KSA	72	4	3	0	0	1	0
3	DF	Tukar Redha	29-11-1975	Al Ittihad	KSA	41	6	3	0	0	0	0
4	DF	Al Montashari Hamad	22-06-1982	Al Ittihad	KSA	36	6	3	0	0	0	0
5	DF	Al Qadi Naif	03-04-1979	Al Ahli	KSA	28	2	0	0	0	0	0
6	MF	Al Ghamdi Omar	11-04-1979	Al Hilal	KSA	41	5	2	0	0	1	0
7	MF	Ameen Mohammed	29-04-1980	Al Ittihad	KSA	19	7	2	0	0	0	0
8	MF	Noor Mohammed	26-02-1978	Al Ittihad	KSA	67	22	3	0	0	0	0
9	FW	Al Jaber Sami	11-12-1972	Al Hilal	KSA	164	45	3	1	0	1	0
10	MF	Al Shlhoub Mohammad	08-12-1980	Al Hilal	KSA	48	15	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW	Al Harthi Saad	03-02-1984	Al Nasr	KSA	16	12	1	0	0	0	0
12	DF	Khathran Abdulaziz	31-07-1973	Al Hilal	KSA	21	0	2	0	0	0	0
13	DF	Sulimani Hussein	21-01-1977	Al Ahli	KSA	101	3	3	0	0	0	0
14	MF	Khariri Saud	08-07-1980	Al Ittihad	KSA	38	12	3	0	0	1	0
15	DF	Al Bahri Ahmed	18-09-1980	Al Ittifaq	KSA	11	3	0	0	0	0	0
16	MF	Aziz Khaled	14-07-1981	Al Hilal	KSA	18	2	3	0	0	0	0
17	FW	Al Anbar Mohammed	22-03-1985	Al Hilal	KSA	11	3	0	0	0	0	0
18	MF	Al Temyat Nawaf	28-06-1976	Al Hilal	KSA	59	13	2	0	0	1	0
19	MF	Massad Mohammed	17-02-1983	Al Ahli	KSA	6	0	1	0	0	0	0
20	FW	Al Kahtani Yaser	10-10-1982	Al Hilal	KSA	48	34	2	1	0	0	0
21	GK	Zaid Mabrouk	11-02-1979	Al Ittihad	KSA	37	0	3	0	0	0	0
22	GK	Khojah Mohammad	15-03-1982	Al Shabab	KSA	8	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	FW	Al Hawsawi Malek	10-08-1981	Al Ahli	KSA	9	0	3	0	0	0	0