Our World Cup Fantasy team previews continue with a look at Saudi Arabia, a side with low expectations despite finishing ahead of Japan and Australia in their final qualifying group.
In these country-by-country guides, we’ll be looking at the best players from each nation, taking a stab at predicted line-ups, reviewing the road to Qatar and more.
To do this, we’ll be calling on the help of correspondents from each nation.
Here, Fantasy Football Scout users Mohamed Khashoggi (@M0comment) and Tom Bird (@tomwbird)) help us profile Herve Renard’s men.
All prices given are from the official FIFA World Cup Fantasy game.
THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION
No huge wins came for Saudi Arabia in the first group stage, just doing what needed to be done in qualifying for the next round. From here, this scrappy team’s ten games involved only 18 goals but they again managed to top the group.
A 2-0 defeat to Japan was their only slight setback and – with all players based domestically – adapting to the climate of neighbours Qatar certainly won’t be an issue, nor will support.
In fact, many of the squad play for Al Hilal, continental champions in two of the last three seasons.
| Team | Pts | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 20 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 4 | +18 |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | 15 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 9 | +9 |
| 3 | Palestine | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | Singapore | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 22 | -15 |
| 5 | Yemen | 5 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 18 | -12 |
| Team | Pts | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 23 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 |
| 2 | Japan | 22 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 4 | +8 |
| 3 | Australia | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 9 | +6 |
| 4 | Oman | 14 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 10 | +1 |
| 5 | China | 6 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 19 | -10 |
| 6 | Vietnam | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 19 | -11 |
- Most starts: Yasser Al Shahrani (15), Mohammed Al Owais (15), Salman Al Faraj (14)
- Most goals: Salem Al Dawsari (7), Saleh Al Shehri (7)
- Most assists: Fahad Al Muwallad (3), Sultan Al Ghanam (3)
- Clean sheets: 12 from 18
MATCHES OF 2022
Four wins from 13 games has made it a so-so year for the Saudis. Just 14 goals arrived throughout, with no match containing more than two.
They were never beaten heavily, however, with only Japan breaching their backline on more than one occasion in 2022 and seven clean sheets recorded along the way.
| 27 January 2022 | WC qualifier | Saudi Arabia | 1-0 | Oman |
| 1 February 2022 | WC qualifier | Japan | 2-0 | Saudi Arabia |
| 24 March 2022 | WC qualifier | China | 1-1 | Saudi Arabia |
| 29 March 2022 | WC qualifier | Saudi Arabia | 1-0 | Australia |
| 5 June 2022 | Friendly | Saudi Arabia | 0-1 | Colombia |
| 9 June 2022 | Friendly | Saudi Arabia | 0-1 | Venezuela |
| 23 September 2022 | Friendly | Saudi Arabia | 0-0 | Ecuador |
| 27 September 2022 | Friendly | Saudi Arabia | 0-0 | United States |
| 22 October 2022 | Friendly | Saudi Arabia | 1-0 | North Macedonia |
| 26 October 2022 | Friendly | Saudi Arabia | 1-1 | Albania |
| 30 October 2022 | Friendly | Saudi Arabia | 0-0 | Honduras |
| 6 November 2022 | Friendly | Saudi Arabia | 1-0 | Iceland |
| 10 November 2022 | Friendly | Panama | 1-1 | Saudi Arabia |
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
MOST RECENT INTERNATIONAL LINE-UPS
06/11/2022 – Saudi Arabia 1-0 Iceland (Abdulhamid)
(4-3-3) Al Owais; Abdulhamid, Al Amri, Tambakti, Al-Berik; Al-Faraj, Al-Malki, Kanno; Al-Muwallad, Al-Buraikan, Al-Dawsari
10/11/2022 – Panama 1-1 Saudi Arabia (Asiri)
(4-2-3-1) Al Owais; Al-Berik, Al Bulaihi, Tambakti, Al-Shahrani; Al-Malki, Kanno; Asiri, Al-Najei, Al-Dawsari; Al-Buraikan
HOW FAR WILL THEY GET?
“Group-stage exit.” – Tom Bird
“Group stage or the last 16.” – Mohamed Khashoggi
STRENGTHS
“They’ve been very solid defensively for some time: only four goals have been conceded in their last 10 internationals, despite facing the likes of Ecuador, Colombia and the USA in that time.” – Tom Bird
“Our midfield and ability to counter-attack.” – Mohamed Khashoggi
WEAKNESSES
“We haven’t got a forward/striker with a lot of experience at the highest level, while we have no players in best global football leagues” – Mohamed Khashoggi
“The main problem is that none of their players ply their trade in the top leagues, so they are not used to playing elite-level opposition on a regular basis.” – Tom Bird
THE KEY FANTASY TARGETS
While you’d be hard pushed to make the case for any Saudi Arabia player on expected output, particularly in Matchday 1, budget options may well be needed to afford the heavy hitters elsewhere.
Saudi Arabia are one of two nations not to have any Fantasy asset cost over $4.5m – the other being Qatar.
As the official FIFA World Cup Fantasy game allows mid-Gameweek player switching, their Group C placing means cheap players can be tried as a mere free hit, with the safety of a quick move to the bench if they blank.
This return-or-switch route could add appeal to goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais ($4.0m), should save points be amassed.
Young striker Firas Al-Buraikan (not yet priced) should lead the line but it’s Salem Al-Dawsari ($4.5m), for fans of a penalty-taking talisman, who probably offers the best all-round assist and goal potential.
Both of these players are listed as forwards by FIFA, where competition is fierce for spots, so advanced central midfielder/’number 10′ Salman Al-Faraj ($4.0m) – scorer in Russia 2018 and passed fit after a recent shoulder injury – may carry more appeal for Fantasy bosses who want to spend the bare minimum on a fifth midfielder.
“Salem Al-Dawsari is the talisman, penalty-taker and one of the greatest players in Asia.
“Saud Abdulhamid is an attacking right-back capable of both clean sheet points and goals (he scored in a warm-up game against Iceland earlier this month), while Yasser Al-Shahrani – the ‘Saudi Marcelo’ – is another attack-minded full-back on the other flank. Both are $4.0m but also a slight minutes risk as the full-backs have been rotated.” – Tom Bird
“Salem Al-Dawsari, Salman Al-Faraj and Yasir Al-Shahrani.” – Mohamed Khashoggi
PREDICTED LINE-UP
(4-2-3-1): al-Owais, Abdulhamid, Al-Amrial, Al-Bulaihi, Al-Shahrani, Kanno, Malki (Otayf), Asiri (Bahebri), Al-Faraj, Al-Dawsari, al-Buraikan
