Our first national football team will end its matches in the group stage for the 2026 World Cup against Cape Verde in Cape Verde at dawn on Saturday, raising the slogan “There is no substitute for victory” in order to snatch the qualification ticket to the round of 32, while the World Cup will be eliminated in the event of any stumble in the match, as it will finish fourth in Group Eight with one point, one point behind Uruguay and Cape Verde (two points each), while Spain leads the group with 4 points.
The confrontation with Cape Verde will be the sixth for our team against African teams in the World Cup, as it has previously faced five teams during its previous six participations, as no African edition has faced the Greens except for the last edition (Qatar 2022).
It is customary to shine green and achieve victories against African teams in the World Cup, as Morocco and Egypt previously won, and tied twice against South Africa and Tunisia, compared to one loss against Cameroon.
The beginning was in the first historic appearance in the World Cup when Al-Akhdar faced the Moroccan national team for the second round of the group stage in the 1994 World Cup, and at that time Al-Akhdar achieved his first historic victory in the World Cup thanks to a brace from Fouad Anwar and Sami Al-Jaber against a single Moroccan goal.
In the next World Cup (France 1998), the draw brought together the Saudi team and its South African counterpart in one group, and the tie was decided 2-2 as a result of their match, while the green double came from Sami Al-Jaber and Youssef Al-Thunayan, so that the meeting that followed (South Korea and Japan 2002) was renewed with a new African team, and this time it was Cameroon, which decided the match with the goal of its legend, Samuel Eto’o.
In the 2006 World Cup, Al-Akhdar was on a date with an Arab summit that brought him together with the Tunisian national team, which was decided in a 2-2 draw. Yasser Al-Qahtani and Sami Al-Jaber scored for Al-Akhdar.
After 12 years, Al-Akhdar returned to the World Cup matches against the Africans, and this time in an Arab summit that brought him together with the Egyptian national team, where the Saudi team won 2-1, and was responsible for the goals of Al-Akhdar, Salman Al-Faraj and Salem Al-Dosari.
Our national football team concludes its group stage matches for the 2026 World Cup against the Cape Verde team early on Saturday, raising the banner of “victory is the only option” in order to snatch a qualification ticket to the Round of 32. Meanwhile, they will exit the World Cup if they stumble in the match, as they currently sit fourth in Group H with only one point, trailing Uruguay and Cape Verde (both with two points), while Spain leads the group with four points.
The match against Cape Verde will be the sixth for our team against African teams in the World Cup, having previously faced five teams during its six prior participations, as no edition has been without an African opponent for the Green, except for the last edition (Qatar 2022).
It has been customary for the Green to shine and achieve victories against African teams in the World Cup, as they have previously won against Morocco and Egypt, and drawn twice against South Africa and Tunisia, with only one loss against Cameroon.
The beginning was during their historic first appearance in the World Cup when the Green faced the Moroccan team in the second round of the group stage at the 1994 World Cup, where the Green achieved its first historic victory in the World Cup thanks to two goals from Fuad Anwar and Sami Al-Jaber against a single Moroccan goal.
In the next World Cup (France 1998), the draw placed the Saudi team and its South African counterpart in the same group, and their match ended in a 2-2 draw, with the Green’s goals coming from Sami Al-Jaber and Youssef Al-Thunayan. This encounter was repeated in the following edition (South Korea and Japan 2002) against a new African team, this time Cameroon, which decided the match with a goal from its legend Samuel Eto’o.
In the 2006 World Cup, the Green had a date with an Arab summit against the Tunisian team, which ended in a 2-2 draw, with goals for the Green scored by Yasser Al-Qahtani and Sami Al-Jaber.
After 12 years, the Green returned to World Cup encounters against Africans, this time in another Arab summit against the Egyptian team, where the Saudi team won 2-1, with the goals for the Green scored by Salman Al-Faraj and Salem Al-Dawsari.
