RIYADH — Roberto Mancini, the head coach of the Saudi national football team, has unveiled the squad for the upcoming preparatory camp scheduled to take place in Qatar from December 31 to January 11. This camp is a crucial part of the fourth phase of preparation for the 2023 Asian Cup, also slated to be held in Qatar in January.
The Saudi team, during this camp, is set to engage in three friendly matches. The first match is against the Lebanese national team on January 4, followed by the second against the Palestinian national team on January 9, and the third against the Hong Kong national team on January 10.
For this preparatory camp, Mancini has called up a squad of 30 players. The named players include:
1. Nawaf Al-Aqidi
2. Mohammed Al-Yami
3. Raghid Najjar
4. Ahmed Al-Kassar
5. Hassan Kadesh
6. Awn Al-Saluli
7. Ali Al-Bulayhi
8. Ali Lajami
9. Hassan Al-Tambakti
10. Saud Abdulhamid
11. Fawaz Al-Suqur
12. Ayman Yahia
13. Abdullah Al-Khaibari
14. Ali Hazazi
15. Mukhtar Ali
16. Abdulelah Al-Maliki
17. Faisal Al-Ghamdi
18. Eid Al-Mawlid
19. Salem Al-Dawsari
20. Abbas Al-Hassan
21. Nasser Al-Dawsari
22. Mohammed Kanno
23. Sami Al-Najei
24. Fahad Al-Muwallad
25. Khaled Al-Ghannam
26. Abdulrahman Ghareeb
27. Mohammed Maran
28. Firas Al-Brikan
29. Abdullah Radif
30. Saleh Al-Shehri
It is noteworthy that the national team has already played six friendly matches in the previous three preparation stages, facing teams such as Venezuela, Bolivia, Costa Rica, South Korea, Nigeria, and Mali. Additionally, two matches were played in the first round of the second phase of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup against the national teams of Pakistan and Jordan.
The national team is set to depart for Qatar on Sunday, gathering in Riyadh and departing from King Khalid International Airport to Doha International Airport. In the 2023 Asian Cup, the Saudi national team is placed in Group Six alongside the national teams of Oman, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand.
