Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Coach Herve Renard announced on Friday 26-member Green Falcons squad for the Qatar World Cup 2022.

There are 16 debutants while 10 players were part of the team played in the Russia World Cup 2018. Midfielder Salman Al-Faraj is the captain. Renard has excluded six players from the final squad.

Members of the squad are below: Goalkeepers: Mohammed Al-Owais, Mohammed Alyami, and Nawaf Al-Aqidi. Defense: Sultan Al-Ghannam, Muhammad Al-Burayk, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Ali Al-Bulaihi, Abdullah Madu, Hassan Tambakti, Saud Abdulhamid, and Yasser Al-Shahrani.

Midfield: Salman Al-Faraj, Salem Al-Dawsari, Abdulelah Al-Malki, Mohamed Kanno, Abdul Rahman Al-Aboud, Sami Al-Najei, Hattan Bahebri, Nasser Al-Dosari, Ali Al-Hassan, Riyad Sharahili, and Abdullah Atif. Forward: Saleh Al-Shehri, Feras Al-Brikan, Haitham Asiri, and Fahd Al-Muwalad.

Renard gave 10 players the opportunity to play in the World Cup for the second time after the 2018 World Cup, which was held in Russia. Those who were excluded from the final squad are Amin Bukhari, Zakaria Hawsawi, Ahmed Bamasoud, Nawaf Al-Abed, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, and Abdullah Radif.

The final squad members will continue their practice in their Riyadh camp from Sunday, after the 48-hour break granted by the technical staff to the players, after they conclude preparatory camp. The camp was held in Abu Dhabi, during the period from October 17 to November 10, as part of the third phase of the preparatory program for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which kicks off on Nov. 20.

Saudi Arabia’s first match will be against the two-time world champions Argentina. During the practice in Abu Dhabi, the team played five friendly matches against the teams of Macedonia, Albania, Honduras, Iceland and Panama.