This will be the second meeting between these two sides in less than a year, with the last one ending 1-0 in favour of Venezuela back in June last year, thanks to Nahuel Ferreresi first-half effort.
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Saudi Arabia play host to Venezuela in an international friendly at Price Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah on Friday. This will be the second meeting between these two sides in less than a year, with the last one ending 1-0 in favour of Venezuela back in June last year, thanks to Nahuel Ferreresi first-half effort. Meanwhile, both sides are heading into the match on the back of contrasting results in their last outings, with the hosts suffering a 2-1 defeat to Oman in a Gulf Cup fixture in January, while the South American nation got the better of Syria 2-1 in a friendly in November, 2022.
غدًا موعدنــــا 😍⬇️ pic.twitter.com/2trJpQd2Y9
— المنتخب السعودي (@SaudiNT) March 23, 2023
The Green Falcons suffered an early exit in the group stage of the Gulf Cup, losing their final two group-matches of the tournament. Last time out, Saudi Arabia lost to Oman despite the fact that Turki Al Ammar got on the score sheet. Meanwhile, prior to the Gulf Cup, Herve Renard’s side had an impressive World Cup in Qatar last year. They created the biggest shocks of the tournament, defeating soon-to-be world champions Argentina 2-1, thanks to second-half efforts from Saleh Alshehri and Salem Aldawsari. After that, the Saudi’s suffered back-to-back defeats against Poland and Mexico to exit the tournament. Meanwhile, at the moment, the Green Falcons are the fifth-highest ranked team in Asian (49th) and they are unbeaten in their last ten games on home soil.
Venezuela, on the other hand, didn’t qualify for the World Cup finals, finishing at the bottom of the CONMEBOL table, with just ten points to their name from 18 games. After their dismal run at the qualification campaign, Fernando Batista replaced Jose Pekerman as the head coach. Although La Vinotino have struggled in the competitive games, their record in the friendlies have been very impressive, losing only three of their last 20 exhibition contests dating back to 2016. Last time out, the Red Wine’s got the better of Syria in November last year, courtesy of Ernesto Torregrossa’s second-minute opening goal and Salomon Rondon’s winner five minutes into the second half.
Saudi Arabia Probable Starting Lineup: Al-Owais, Abdulhamid, Al-Tambakti, Al-Amri, Al-Hardi, Kanno, Sharahili, S. Al-Dawsari, Al-Khaibari, Al-Aboud, Al-Buraikan
Venezuela Probable Starting Lineup: Graterol, Hernandez, Navarro, Makoun, O. Gonzalez, Savarino, Rincon, Moreno, Cordova, Rondon, Josef Martinez
Saudi Arabia
| Opponents | Score |
| Oman | 1-2 (L) |
| Iraq | 0-2 (L) |
| Yemen | 0-2 (W) |
| Mexico | 1-2 (L) |
| Poland | 2-0 (L) |
Venezuela
| Opponents | Score |
| Syria | 2-1 (W) |
| Panama | 2-2 (D) |
| UAE | 0-4 (W) |
| Iceland | 1-0 (L) |
| Saudi Arabia | 0-1 (W) |
| Last match-result | Score |
| Venezuela beat Saudi Arabia | 0-1 |
The friendly match between Saudi Arabia and Venezuela will take place at Price Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium on Saturday at 12:30 am IST.
| Saudi Arabia vs Venezuela | Key Details |
| Date | March 24 (Saudi Arabia) |
| Venue | Price Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Saudi Arabia | 10:00 pm (Friday) |
| Kickoff time in Venezuela | 3:00 am (Friday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 12:30 am (Saturday) |
The live telecast of the friendly match between Saudi Arabia and Venezuela will be available on SSC. Besides, those Venezuela can catch the live action via Televen.
