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World Cup 2022 Group C Team Guides: Saudi Arabia
Argentina is the favorite to win this group, so the real narrative is, who comes in second? Mexico and Poland will likely battle for that spot, though Saudi Arabia is no slouch as an opponent.
Robert Lewandowski leads a strong Poland side, while El Tri has the potential to go far in the tournament, especially with a rowdy fan base in tow. Meanwhile, the Saudis have confidence heading into Qatar after winning their Asian qualifying group and tying the United States in a September friendly — can they pull off a group stage upset?
Everything you need to know about Saudi Arabia:
Three Things You Need To Know About Saudi Arabia
Coach: Herve Renard
Highest finish: Round of 16 (1994)
2018 finish: Group stage
FOX Bet odds: +75000
Key players: Salem Al-Dawsari, Saleh Al Shehri, Salman Al Faraj
What we're excited to watch: Saudi Arabia is the third-lowest ranked team in this tournament (outside Ghana and Qatar). But, who knows? Maybe the Saudis can pull off an upset in this group with a strong fan base in the stands.
What success looks like: Saudi Arabia scored just two goals in the 2018 World Cup and finished third in its group. It lost to Russia 5-0 in the tournament's opening match, so making it out of the group this time would be a huge improvement.
Achilles heel: Renard recently called up goalkeepers Mohammad Al-Owais, Fawaz Al-Qarni and Nawaf Al-Aqidi for friendly matches before heading to Qatar, none of whom are regular starters for their clubs. If the Saudis are going to make any kind of noise in the group, they're going to need a solid choice in the back to stop shots from Messi and Lewandowski.
X-Factor: Salem Al-Dawsari is the top player to watch. The 31-year-old winger scored seven goals for Saudi Arabia during qualifying and netted a career-high 18 goals for Al-Hilal last season.
Group C Preview: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland
Goalkeepers: Mohamed Al-Owais, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Mohamed Al-Yami
Defenders: Yasser Al-Shahrani, Ali Al-Bulaihi, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Abdullah Madu, Hassan Tambakti, Sultan Al-Ghanam, Mohammed Al-Breik, Saud Abdulhamid
Midfielders: Salman Al-Faraj, Riyadh Sharahili, Ali Al-Hassan, Mohamed Kanno, Abdulelah Al-Malki, Sami Al-Najei, Abdullah Otayf, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Abdulrahman Al-Aboud, Salem Al-Dawsari, Hattan Bahebri
Forwards: Haitham Asiri, Saleh Al-Shehri, Firas Al-Buraikan
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.
