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Saudi Arabia World Cup 2022 squad list, fixtures and latest odds

Saleh Al-Shehri of Saudi Arabia, left, celebrates scoring his side's equalising goal with Firas Al-Buraikan to make the score 1-1 during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group C match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on November 22, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar - Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Image
Saleh Al-Shehri of Saudi Arabia, left, celebrates scoring his side's equalising goal with Firas Al-Buraikan to make the score 1-1 during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group C match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on November 22, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar - Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Image

Saudi Arabia kicked off their World Cup campaign with one of the greatest upsets in the competition's history.

The Green Falcons came back from 1-0 down to shock Lionel Messi's Argentina with goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari in their opening game from Group C.

Saudi Arabia were beaten by Poland in the second group game though, when a missed penalty and glaring defensive error cost them dear.

They take on Mexico in their final group game, and will still have a chance to reach the knockout stages.

Saudi Arabia World Cup 2022 squad

Goalkeepers: Mohamed Al-Owais (Al-Hilal), Nawaf Al-Aqidi (Al-Nassr), Mohamed Al-Yami (Al-Ahly)

Defenders: Yasser Al-Shahrani (Al-Hilal), Ali Al-Bulaihi (Al-Hilal), Abdulelah Al-Amri (Al-Nassr), Abdullah Madu (Al-Nassr), Hassan Tambakti (Al-Shabab), Sultan Al-Ghanam (Al-Nassr), Mohammed Al-Breik (Al-Hilal), Saud Abdulhamid (Al-Hilal)

Midfielders: Salman Al-Faraj (Al-Hilal), Riyadh Sharahili (Abha), Ali Al-Hassan (Al-Nassr), Mohamed Kanno (Al-Hilal), Abdulelah Al-Malki (Al-Hilal), Sami Al-Najei (Al-Nassr), Abdullah Otayf (Al-Hilal), Nasser Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal), Abdulrahman Al-Aboud (Ittihad), Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal), Hattan Bahebri (Al-Shabab)

Forwards: Fahad Al-Muwallad (Al-Shabab), Haitham Asiri (Al-Ahly), Saleh Al-Shehri (Al-Hilal) Firas Al-Buraikan (Al-Fateh)

Who are the star names in the squad?

Salem Al-Dawsari, who plays on the left wing, made a brief appearance at Villarreal in La Liga in 2018, while on loan from his domestic Saudi club.

He has 65 caps and was a key asset in the squad in Russia, striking a late winner against Egypt in their final group stage game. He followed this up in 2022 with the winning goal against Argentina.

Another standout from the 2018 squad was captain Salman Al-Faraj, who scored the equaliser from the penalty spot in that Egypt win.

Worryingly for Renard, he picked up a shoulder injury in Saudi Arabia's pre-tournament friendly against Iceland, but his manager named him in the squad nonetheless, with Al-Faraj expected to recover in time for his country's first group stage match.

What are Saudi Arabia’s fixtures?

What is Saudi Arabia’s World Cup record?

They crashed out of the group stage at Russia 2018 with just one win and two losses.

For much of the current Saudi Arabia squad, that was their first and only taste of World Cup campaigns given they failed to qualify in both 2010 and 2014.

That said, Saudi Arabia became the second Arab national team in history to reach the Round of 16 in a World Cup in 1994, their debut in the tournament, one of the few Asian teams to do this.

Saudi Arabia won the Asian Cup three times in the Eighties and Nineties.

Argentina | Australia | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon | Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | Ecuador | England | France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico | Morocco | Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Serbia | South Korea | Spain | Switzerland | Tunisia | Uruguay | USA | Wales

Latest odds

In conditions they'll be familiar with, back the fellow Middle Eastern kingdom to pick up points in Qatar with these betting offers and free bets

Saudi Arabia are currently a best price of 400/1 to win the World Cup.