Greek manager Georgios Donis has left Saudi Arabia defender Saud Abdulhamid on the bench for the friendly against South Korea in Doha.
The two sides meet at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Friday, with Saudi Arabia beginning its current international-break preparations ahead of future commitments.
Donis has selected Al-Qadsiah’s Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat at right-back, having previously used him as a winger in some matches. Al-Shamat starts alongside Al-Hilal’s Moteb Al-Harbi at left-back, while Abdullah Al-Amri and Hassan Tambakti occupy the centre of defence.
Saudi Arabia’s midfield consists of three players, with Al-Nassr’s Abdullah Al-Khaibari joined by Al-Hilal pair Mohammed Kanno and Nasser Al-Dawsari.
There have also been changes in attack. Abdullah Al-Hamdan starts as the central forward, supported by Mohammed Al-Qahtani and Marwan Al-Sahafi. Salem Al-Dawsari and Hammam Al-Hamami miss the match through injury.
Saudi Arabia’s starting XI is:
Goalkeeper: Mohammed Al-Owais
Defenders: Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, Hassan Tambakti, Abdullah Al-Amri, Moteb Al-Harbi
Midfielders: Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Mohammed Kanno, Nasser Al-Dawsari
Forwards: Marwan Al-Sahafi, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Mohammed Al-Qahtani
The fixture is the 19th meeting between Saudi Arabia and South Korea in friendly and competitive matches. Their first encounter took place in 1980.
Saudi Arabia have won five of the previous 18 meetings, while South Korea have recorded six victories. The remaining seven matches ended in draws.
Saudi Arabia’s most recent victory came 21 years ago, when they defeated South Korea home and away in the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, winning 2-0 and 1-0.
Since then, the teams have played six times without a Saudi victory. South Korea have won two of those games and the other four ended level.
This will be the seventh friendly between the countries. South Korea have won two of the previous six, Saudi Arabia have won one and three finished as draws.
Saudi Arabia’s most notable success over South Korea came in the semi-final of the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, when Talal Al-Meshal scored both goals in a 2-1 victory.
Their latest meeting was in the last 16 of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes before South Korea progressed to the quarter-finals on penalties.
Saudi Arabia will play another friendly during its current camp in Doha, facing Uzbekistan next Tuesday.
