With the exception of defender Saud Abdulhamid, who plays in France with Lens, the starting XI against Uruguay all play their club football in Saudi Arabia.
The team, nicknamed the Green Falcons, is made up of a mix of youth and experience.
Al Dawsari, 34, who captains the national team, is playing in his third World Cup, after those goals in the 2018 and 2022 editions.
Musab al Juwayr is an exciting young playmaker who showed his value to the team in qualifying, providing the most assists (3).
The 22-year-old is being tipped to be a mainstay of the side for years to come, while Abdulelah al Amri, who scored against Uruguay, and Abdullah al Khaibari are both team-mates of Ronaldo’s at Al-Nassr.
“The Saudi league is better than MLS (North America’s Major League Soccer),” Ronaldo said after he moved to Saudi Arabia in 2023. He recently scored his 100th goal in the Saudi Pro League.
Al Amri became the first defender to score for Saudi Arabia at the World Cup, with his strike also representing the nation’s first-ever goal from a corner in the competition.
His only previous international goal came on his debut in a friendly against Kuwait in March 2021.
It was the first time Saudi Arabia had opened the scoring in a World Cup match since a 1-0 win over Belgium in 1994. They had not scored the opening goal in any of their previous 16 matches in the competition.
More than £700m was spent on the likes of Neymar, Benzema and ex-Manchester City and Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez, who joined Ronaldo in the highly ambitious footballing nation three years ago.
Mane also moved to Saudi Arabia in 2023.
“Fortunately, I can say the Saudi league is a very good league, and watched by everybody in the world,” said the former Liverpool forward.
“So, for me, as long as I’m doing my best and I’m enjoying myself every single minute, that’s more important.”
The money is still flowing with overseas signings but compared to the peak of 2023, there is more focus on bringing in younger players with sell-on value.
According to sources in Riyadh, there are still funds available for the right veteran superstar such as Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian, who has left Liverpool, is wanted by Al-Ittihad – but only if the price is right.
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