Saudi Arabia’s 2026 World Cup squad takes shape

Reports say Greek coach Georgios Donis has settled on the preliminary squad he will announce for Saudi Arabia’s campaign at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Donis is due to hold a news conference in Riyadh on Saturday, where he will reveal the official squad for the tournament and the team’s preparation programme before the trip to the United States.

Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadiyah said the Greek coach will name 30 players in the preliminary list, then cut four before unveiling the final 26-man squad.

The list carried by the newspaper left out some well-known names, including Neom midfielder Salman Al-Faraj and Al Hilal full-back Hamad Al-Yami.

It also included several new names, among them Al Taawoun goalkeeper Abdulqoddous Atiyah, Al Khaleej defender Mohammed Khabrani and Neom midfielder Alaa Al-Haji.

The squad was listed as follows:

• Goalkeepers: Mohammed Al-Owais, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi, Ahmed Al-Kassar, Abdulqoddous Atiyah
• Defenders: Saud Abdulhamid, Ali Mughrashi, Nawaf Boushal, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, Hassan Tambakti, Ali Lajami, Abdulilah Al-Omari, Jihad Zekri, Ryan Hamed, Mohammed Khabrani, Hassan Kadesh, Muteb Al-Harbi, Ayman Yahya, Zakaria Hawsawi
• Midfielders: Nasser Al-Dosari, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Ziad Al-Johani, Mohammed Kanno, Murad Hawsawi, Musab Al-Juwayr, Mukhtar Ali, Alaa Al-Haji
• Forwards: Salem Al-Dosari, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, Homam Al-Hamami, Khalid Al-Ghannam, Sultan Mandash, Marwan Al-Sahfi, Firas Al-Buraikan, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Saleh Al-Shehri, Abdullah Al-Salem

Saudi Arabia are in Group Eight at the 2026 World Cup alongside Spain, Uruguay and Cape Verde.

Before the tournament, the team will play two friendlies against Ecuador and Senegal on May 30 and June 9, plus a third match that has not been announced on June 4.