Saudi Arabia 2023 AFC Asian Cup Squad
Head Coach: 
Roberto Mancini
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of Birth/Age | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Nawaf Al-Aqidi | 10 May 2000 (age 23) | 5 | 0 |  Al-Nassr |
| 21 | GK | Raghed Al-Najjar | 20 December 1996 (age 27) | 0 | 1 | Al-Nassr |
| 22 | GK | Ahmed Al-Kassar | 8 May 1991 (age 32) | 1 | 0 | Al-Fayha |
| 2 | DF | Fawaz Al-Sqoor | 23 April 1996 (age 27) | 5 | 0 | Al-Shabab |
| 3 | DF | Awn Al-Saluli | 2 September 1998 (age 25) | 4 | 1 | Al-Taawoun |
| 4 | DF | Ali Lajami | 24 April 1996 (age 27) | 6 | 0 | Al-Nassr |
| 5 | DF | Ali Al-Bulaihi | 21 November 1989 (age 34) | 48 | 0 | Al-Hilal |
| 12 | DF | Saud Abdulhamid | 18 July 1999 (age 24) | 32 | 0 | Al-Hilal |
| 13 | DF | Hassan Kadesh | 27 September 1992 (age 31) | 5 | 7 | Al-Ittihad |
| 17 | DF | Hassan Al-Tambakti | 9 February 1999 (age 24) | 28 | 22 | Al-Hilal |
| 6 | MF | Eid Al-Muwallad | 14 December 2001 (age 22) | 1 | 15 | Al-Okhdood |
| 7 | MF | Mukhtar Ali | 30 October 1997 (age 26) | 8 | 1 | Al-Fateh |
| 8 | MF | Abdulellah Al-Malki | 11 October 1994 (age 29) | 33 | 0 | Al-Hilal |
| 10 | MF | Salem Al-Dawsari | 19 August 1991 (age 32) | 79 | 0 | Al-Hilal |
| 14 | MF | Abbas Al-Hassan | 22 February 2004 (age 19) | 3 | 0 | Al-Fateh |
| 15 | MF | Abdullah Al-Khaibari | 16 August 1996 (age 27) | 20 | 2 | Al-Nassr |
| 16 | MF | Sami Al-Najei | 7 February 1997 (age 26) | 19 | 0 | Al-Nassr |
| 18 | MF | Abdulrahman Ghareeb | 31 March 1997 (age 26) | 22 | 3 | Al-Nassr |
| 19 | MF | Fahad Al-Muwallad | 14 September 1994 (age 29) | 78 | 17 | Al-Shabab |
| 23 | MF | Mohamed Kanno | 22 September 1994 (age 29) | 48 | 1 | Al-Hilal |
| 24 | MF | Nasser Al-Dawsari | 19 December 1998 (age 25) | 18 | 0 | Al-Hilal |
| 25 | MF | Ayman Yahya | 14 May 2001 (age 22) | 11 | 0 | Al-Nassr |
| 26 | MF | Faisal Al-Ghamdi | 13 August 2001 (age 22) | 5 | 2 | Al-Ittihad |
| 9 | FW | Firas Al-Buraikan | 14 May 2000 (age 23) | 38 | 0 | Al-Ahli |
| 11 | FW | Saleh Al-Shehri | 1 November 1993 (age 30) | 30 | 0 | Al-Hilal |
| 20 | FW | Abdullah Radif | 20 January 2003 (age 20) | 9 | 0 | Al-Shabab |
Most Capped Player: Mohamed Al-Deayea – 173
Top Goalscorer: Majed Abdullah – 72
Saudi Arabia 2023 Asian Cup Preview
Former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini takes charge of the Saudi Arabia national team at a major international tournament for the first time since being appointed back in August 2023, as they head back to Qatar for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur pulled off one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history in Qatar back in 2022, as they bested eventual winners Argentina 2-1 in their opening group game, however defeats to Poland and Mexico followed which saw them exit the tournament after finishing bottom of Group C.
Saudi Arabia compete in the tournament for the 11th time, and have been drawn as the top seed in Group F alongside Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Oman.
Mancini’s side get things underway against Oman in Al Rayyan on 16 January, before taking on Kyrgyzstan at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium five days later, followed by their final group stage match at the Education City Stadium against Thailand on 25 January.
Saudi Arabia Player To Watch
The surge in popularity of the Saudi Pro League following the arrival of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves and many more has put countless Saudi Arabia internationals in the spotlight.
One of those is 23-year-old Al-Ahli striker Firas Al-Buraikan, who has dealt with the pressure of playing alongside Roberto Firmino, Mahrez, Edouard Mendy, Gabri Veiga, Allan Saint-Maximin and Franck Kessie very well as he is currently his side’s leading scorer this term with an impressive 13 goals in 19 appearances.
Not only that, but he also has a knack for creating goals for his star-studded ex-Premier League teammates with five assists in the league thus far in 2023/24.
Al-Buraikan led the line for Mancini’s side in one of their final Asian Cup preparation matches against Lebanon at the start of the month too – scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win, and we at SportsLens are backing the forward to maintain his excellent domestic form to make his mark in Qatar.
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