Riyadh: The triumph of the Green Falcons at the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, marked yet another successful milestone for Saudi Arabian football this year. The dominant performances at the tournament came on the back of a remarkable World Cup qualification campaign for the senior team, as well as the ongoing success of the Saudi clubs on the continental level, in addition to the great progress achieved by the women’s national team.
SAFF president, Yasser Al Misehal said, “The success of the Saudi national teams demonstrates that our strategy is yielding positive results. Bringing back to the Kingdom the AFC U-23 Asian Cup for the first time ever with our very own Saudi national coach, Saad Al-Shehri, is a source of great pride and satisfaction The players who achieved this great feat will be part of the main drivers of the success of our National Team going forward.”
Greater confidence
“This gives us greater confidence and trust in our younger generation, beside the achievements we had this year for both men’s and women’s football. We are working on developing a pathway tailored for every up-and-coming Saudi footballer on the grassroots level. We are working on extending a very large pool of Saudi talent with the support needed for the upcoming generations of Saudi football to match the highest professional levels of the game, be it in the technical and tactical aspects of the game, as well as the dietary, psychological, physical and athletic aspects,” he added.
The Saudi National team is set to take part in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in what will be the green falcons’ sixth World Cup participation. The Green Falcons booked their spot at the World Cup, having topped their qualification group which featured continental giants such as Japan and Australia.
The Saudi Pro League continues to grow in quality and importance at on the Asian level, as Al Hilal SFC are currently the holders of the AFC Champions League title. This year, three Saudi teams are set to feature in the competition’s Round of 16, with Al Hilal, Al Shabab and Al Faisaly having topped their respective groups in the first round.
Silver medal
Earlier this month, the Saudi Futsal National Team also grabbed the silver medal in the West Asian Football Federation’s Futsal Championship. The green falcons demonstrated incredible quality of football throughout the tournament, before losing narrowly to hosts Kuwait in the final (5-3). The team continued their fine run of form by road reaching the quarterfinals in the Futsal Arab Cup taking place in Dammam following a thrilling 3-2 encounter against Iraq that ended their campaign.
Saudi women have had their fair share of success in football this year, as back in February the newly launched Saudi women’s national team played its first ever official games against Seychelles and Maldives, winning both games with the same two-nil result. The Kingdom concluded their successful hosting of the 2022 WAFF Women’s Futsal Championship in Jeddah, where the Saudi Women’s Futsal National Team made its debut in the competition and claimed a silver medal following a 4-2 defeat in the final against Iraq.
