Pre-match Squad Predictions and Analysis

The match against North Korea is less than 24 hours away now so I guess it’s time to talk about line ups and tactics.

We’ve stuck with a pretty orthodox 4-4-2 during the whole campaign so that’s what I’m assuming we use tomorrow as well.

First up in goal is most likely gonna be Waleed Abdullah. An easy choice to make as it looks we finally have someone to fill in the boots of Mohamed Dayeaya as Waleed has only been improving with each game and almost singlehandedly managed to save us from defeat against South Korea last time around.

At right back is Abdullah Shuhail and he’s been pretty good for us in this position and much better than Mohamed Nami who replaced him for a couple matches. Shuhail’s only weakness is that he joins the attack a bit too much leaving some space in the back, luckily we have two DMs to sort this matter out.

First center back would have to be Osama Hawsawi. What can I say about this guy that hasn’t been said already? the other center backs have kept rotating and he’s stayed which shows how consistent and focused he’s been all season long for both Al Hilal and the Saudi NT. Legend.

Second center back is Naif Al Qadi. Naif has been in and out of the NT several times before but a determined effort at the heart of Al Shabab’s defense this season has shown us what a good player he really is. If he was paired with a better CB Al Shabab will have a fearsome defense. Anyway, his main problem is that he’s a recent call up and hasn’t quite gelled with Hawsawi yet.

Left back is Abdullah Al-Zouri since he’s pretty much got that position locked down. He isn’t amazing but left backs are a rare breed wherever you are and in Saudi Arabia they’re even rarer. Zouri is decent enough and I can’t think of anyone to replace him.

Defensive midfield is skipper Hussein Abdul Ghani, Hussein has always been a hardworking player and as the team’s sole dead ball specialist he’s a shoe in for a starting place. He’s not much of a “defensive” midfielder and this clashed last game with Ahmed Ateef as both were very attacking DMs but this should be resolved next game since…

Khaled Aziz is the other starting DM after Ahmed Ateef was suspended last game and he should cover for Hussein Abdul Ghani’s roaming style of play.

Abdul Rahman Al Qahtani is probably going to be the starting left winger after Abdoh Ateef was injured ,and while I’ll probably sound like a hugely insensitive prick for saying this, this is a good thing as A.R. Al Qahtani is by far the better player with skill on the ball and speed on the wing coupled with some great crossing ability.

Mohammed Noor is going to start on the right wing where he is out of position like in the South Korea game. However, if Peseiro lets him drift towards the center a little more he can use his physicality to harass the North Korean defense.

finally Naif Hazazi and Yasser Al Qahtani are best suited to playing upfront with Naif being the target man and Yasser the striker. There really isn’t any reason not to play Naif from the start given that he’s been our hero this qualification round and Nasser Al Shamrani, the only other candidate, is a bottler.

Anyway, that’s my predicted line up and hopefully whoever plays will do the Saudi shirt proud.