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Saudi Arabia (Group D)

Updated: 2007-07-07 20:26

Saudi Arabia go into the AFC Asian Cup looking to put the disappointment of three years ago behind them, when they failed to reach the final of the competition for the first time in their history.

The whole campaign proved to be a complete disaster for the Saudis as they finished bottom of their group, losing to Uzbekistan and Iraq before gaining their solitary point against first-time qualifiers Turkmenistan. It was particularly disappointing given their background in the competition.

Saudi Arabia made history in 1984 when they won the competition in their inaugural appearance after goals from Shaye Nafisah and the legendary Majed Abdullah were enough to overcome China in the final, while four years later they successfully defended their title after beating Korea Republic in a penalty shoot-out.

They failed to make it three consecutive titles in 1992 after a 1-0 defeat to Japan in the final but regained their crown in the United Arab Emirates four years later thanks to another penalty shootout victory, this time against the hosts.

Saudi Arabia were again denied by Japan in 2000 in Lebanon thanks to another 1-0 loss before the debacle of 2004 ended their run of reaching the final in every Asian Cup since their entry in 1984.

However, the Saudis sailed through a qualifying group for 2007 that contained Japan, Yemen and India, qualifying for the finals with a game to spare after hammering Yemen 5-0 in Jeddah on Matchday Five.

But after a disappointing Gulf Cup campaign last January, they dispensed with the services of Brazilian coach Marcus Paqueta, who was in charge of the team during last summer’s World Cup and also steered them to the Asian Cup finals, and replaced him with compatriot Helio Anjos.

And the Saudis will be relying on former AFC Player of the Year Hamad Al Montashari and skipper Hussain Sulaimani, who missed the previous Asian Cup finals, in defence, while 2004 AFC Champions League MVP Rodha Tukar will also play a crucial role.

In view of the surprising omissions of Mohammed Noor and Nawaf Al Temyat, who were not included in Saudi Arabia’s provisional squad, the midfield will be marshalled by Saud Khariri, twice winner of the AFC Champions League with Al Ittihad, and 2006 AFC Player of the Year nominee Mohammad Al Shalhoub. Up front there will be plenty of options for the Brazilian coach to choose from with the ever-present Yasser Al Qahtani, Malek Maaz, Saad Al Harthi, Naji Majrashi and Saleh Bashir all vying for a place in the side.

While the focus will be on tasting success in the Asian Cup for the first time in 11 years, the Saudis will first have to negotiate a tricky group stage that sees them come up against three-time winners Korea Republic, neighbours Bahrain and co-hosts Indonesia. However, Anjos’ side will still be among the favourites when the showpiece tournament kicks-off on July 7 and it would be a major surprise if they were again not involved in the latter stages.

Goalkeepers
1 Yaser Al Mosailem
21 Assaf Al Garni
22 Waleed Abdullah
24 Taisir Al Antaif
Defenders
2 Ibrahim Hazzazi
3 Osama Hawsawi
4 Hamad Al Montashari
5 Majed Al Amri
7 Kamil Al Mousa
15 Ahmed Al Bahari
19 Waleed Jahdali
25 Redha Tukar
26 Abdullah Shuhail
Midfielders
6 Omar Al Ghamdi
10 Mohammad Al Shlhoub
12 Talal Al Khaibrai
13 Ahmed Darwesh
14 Saud Khariri
16 Khaled Aziz
17 Taiseer Al Jassam
18 Abdulrahman Al Qahtani
27 Saheb Al Abdulla
28 Abdoh Autef
30 Ahmed Al Mousa
Forwards
8 Saleh Bashir
9 Malek Maaz
11 Saad Al Harthi
20 Yasser Al Qahtani
23 Nassir Al Shamrani
29 Yousef Al Salem