Georgios Donis named Saudi Arabia’s 26-man World Cup squad on Monday, and 25 of the chosen players earn their living inside the Kingdom, leaving RC Lens right back Saud Abdulhamid as the only name based overseas. Captain Salem Al Dawsari, the reigning Asian player of the year, is set for a third World Cup when the tournament opens across the United States, Mexico and Canada from 11 June to 19 July.
That balance, very nearly a closed domestic shop, would have been hard to imagine a decade ago, when the country’s best footballers routinely chased moves to Europe. It is the loudest evidence yet of how far the Roshn Saudi League has shifted the calculus for Saudi internationals, and how much rests on a group that has barely been tested by elite club football.
One Foreigner in a Squad of 26
The headline number does the talking. 25 of the 26 players Donis selected are registered with Roshn Saudi League clubs, and Abdulhamid, fresh from winning the Coupe de France with Lens, is the lone exception. No other major World Cup nation arrives with a roster this concentrated in a single domestic league.
The shape of the squad is conventional enough. Donis kept three goalkeepers, a heavy bank of ten defenders, nine midfielders and four forwards. The depth sits in defence and midfield, which fits a coach who has spent the build-up talking about organisation rather than flair.
What stands out is not the positions but the postcodes. A national team that once exported its talent now imports almost none of its own experience from abroad, and the players who would historically have left for Spain, France or the Gulf’s wealthier neighbours are the ones being paid to stay.
The composition breaks down cleanly:
- 25 of the 26 players are contracted to Roshn Saudi League clubs.
- 1 overseas selection, Saud Abdulhamid of RC Lens in France.
- 3 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 9 midfielders and 4 forwards.
- 18 of the squad come from the four clubs majority-owned by the Public Investment Fund.
How PIF Money Kept the Talent at Home
The domestic skew is not an accident. It is the downstream result of a spending wave that began three years ago, and the official Roshn Saudi League squad announcement reads almost like a league team sheet.
The 2023 Takeover
In 2023 the Public Investment Fund (PIF, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund) took 75 percent stakes in four clubs: Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli. Months after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in January 2023, those clubs went on a recruitment spree, spending roughly $957 million across a single window, second only to the English Premier League that year.
The marquee imports got the attention, but the policy goal was broader. Higher wages and bigger budgets gave Saudi internationals a reason to stay and compete alongside Benzema, Mane and Mahrez rather than seek a smaller role overseas.
A National-Team Dividend
Three years on, the squad list shows the effect. Some 18 of the 26 players come from the four PIF-controlled clubs, with Al Hilal alone supplying seven. The distribution across the league looks like this:
| Club | PIF stake | Players in squad |
|---|---|---|
| Al Hilal | 75% | 7 |
| Al Nassr | 75% | 6 |
| Al Qadsiah | No | 4 |
| Al Ahli | 75% | 3 |
| Al Ittihad | 75% | 2 |
| Other domestic clubs | Mixed | 3 |
| RC Lens (France) | No | 1 |
Abdulhamid’s Lens Detour
Abdulhamid is the outlier, and a useful one. The 25-year-old right back left Al Hilal for Lens in 2024, and this season he lifted the French Cup, becoming the rare Saudi export to win silverware in a top European competition. That track record is why Donis has him pencilled in as a first-choice full-back.
His route to the camp was not smooth. As iAqaba reported, his arrival was delayed after a vehicle theft in Amsterdam left him without his passport, a stray complication for the one player the squad cannot easily replace with a home-based alternative.
For Saudi football’s planners, Abdulhamid doubles as proof of concept. The league wants to keep players home, but it also wants a handful of credible European footprints to point to. One full-back at a mid-table Ligue 1 club is a thin sample, and it underlines how much the rest of the squad’s pedigree is league-bound rather than continental.
Donis Inherits a Late Rebuild
The man making these calls only arrived in April. Georgios Donis, the 56-year-old Greek coach and former Greece international, replaced Hervé Renard barely two months before the finals, taking the job after a long stint inside the Saudi Pro League with clubs including Al Hilal, Al Fateh, Al Wehda and Al Khaleej. His domestic knowledge is exactly why the federation hired him.
The early returns have been rough. Saudi Arabia lost Donis’s first match in charge 2-1 to Ecuador in a friendly on Sunday, and the coach has spent his media appearances trying to lower expectations rather than raise them.
It is better to look at the forest, not the tree.
That line came from Donis, warning against any hope of a repeat of the Argentina shock from Qatar 2022. He has asked for a team that looks organised and disciplined from the first whistle, a modest brief that matches the reality of a coach with weeks, not months, to imprint a system. Two more warm-ups, against Puerto Rico and Senegal, are all the runway he has left.
The Experience Spine Around Al Dawsari
If the squad has a backbone, it runs through a small group of veterans who have done this before. Salem Al Dawsari, the 34-year-old Al Hilal winger and 2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC, the body that runs Asian club and national competitions) player of the year, anchors it with a national-record 108 caps and a third World Cup ahead of him after 2018 and 2022.
He is not alone in carrying tournament mileage. A handful of others give Donis a core that has seen the biggest stage:
- Salem Al Dawsari, captain and scorer against Argentina in 2022, heading to his third World Cup.
- Mohamed Al Owais, the 34-year-old goalkeeper who played four matches across two previous World Cup campaigns.
- Hassan Tambakti and midfielder Mohamed Kanno, both Al Hilal regulars, adding defensive and midfield ballast.
There was a family subplot, too. Al Qadsiah midfielder Mohammed Abu Alshamat made the cut, while his twin brother Saleh, who plays for Asian champions Al Ahli, was left out of the final 26. The selection rewards form over symmetry, and it is the kind of fine-margin call that defines a squad assembled in a hurry.
Group H Lines Up Spain and Uruguay
The draw offered no mercy. Saudi Arabia land in Group H alongside two of the sterner names in the field, and the calendar is unforgiving from the opening week.
- 15 June, Miami: Saudi Arabia open against Uruguay, perennial knockout-round contenders.
- 21 June, Atlanta: a meeting with Spain, among the tournament favourites.
- 26 June, Houston: a closing group match against debutants Cape Verde, likely the decisive fixture for second place.
The honest read is that all three of those matches will test whether a home-grown core can match teams sharpened weekly in Europe’s top leagues. The Cape Verde game is where the group is probably won or lost, and where the gap between a well-funded domestic league and elite club football will be measured in real time.
If Donis can get a result against Uruguay or steal a point off Spain, the squad’s domestic shape becomes a vindication of the league project. If the home-based core is overrun early, the same 25-from-26 number that looks like strength today will read as the tournament’s first cautionary tale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players in Saudi Arabia’s World Cup squad play abroad?
Only one. Of the 26 players named by Georgios Donis, 25 are contracted to Roshn Saudi League clubs, and right back Saud Abdulhamid of RC Lens is the single overseas-based selection.
Who is Saudi Arabia’s World Cup coach in 2026?
Georgios Donis, a 56-year-old Greek coach and former Greece international, who replaced Hervé Renard in April 2026 after years managing inside the Saudi Pro League.
When does Saudi Arabia play at the 2026 World Cup?
Saudi Arabia open in Group H against Uruguay in Miami on 15 June, face Spain in Atlanta on 21 June, and finish against Cape Verde in Houston on 26 June.
Is Salem Al Dawsari in the squad?
Yes. The 34-year-old Al Hilal captain, the 2025 AFC player of the year with 108 caps, is heading to his third World Cup after appearing in 2018 and 2022.
Where is the 2026 World Cup being held?
The tournament is co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, running from 11 June to 19 July 2026.
