Team Honors

The decision to go professional in 1992 led to the rapid expansion of Saudi football. The infrastructure of the clubs has for years been near perfect thanks to the emirs and wealthy businessmen who fund them. It was thanks to this that Saudi Arabia, in its first ever World Cup finals in 1994, managed to reach the last 16. The same year the country won for the first time the Gulf Cup, which was created in 1970. In 1996 Saudi Arabia confirmed its strength by winning the Asian Championship.

For Saudi Arabia, each international competition is a state affair. For France '98 they have hired Carlos Alberto Parreira who took Brazil to victory in 1994, and sent the team to France two months before the competiton started.

Thanks to the tough competition between the Gulf countries, the experience brought by coaches and imported foreign players (each club is allowed three foreign players) a new generation of players have been born. Eight of the 16 players having participated in the World Cup qualifying matches for 1998 did not play in the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

The normal tactic is to play 4-4-2. The team nearly always consists of the same 11 players. The only two regular changes come in midfield and in attack. The midfield has seen the important return of Saïd Owairan. After scoring against Belgium in the World Cup finals in 1994 he was later suspended for disciplinary reasons for the whole of 1996.