Saudi Arabia have qualified for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar and this will be their first game in a series of friendlies lined up before the global event.
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Saudi Arabia will take on Colombia in an international friendly at the Estadio Nueva Condomina on Sunday. Saudi Arabia have qualified for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar and this will be their first game in a series of friendlies lined up before the global event. Colombia meanwhile failed to qualify for the World Cup finals, missing out on a playoff spot in the CONMEBOL qualifiers by just one point. They are not scheduled to play any more games after this one for a while. Saudi are heading into the tie on the back of a confidence boosting 1-0 win over Australia in the qualifiers, while the Tricolors defeated Venezuela by the same scoreline in March.
The Green Falcons had a convincing and impressive third round of qualifying, topping the group that featured Japan and Australia. In the last game against the Socceroos, Salem al-Dawsari scored the lone goal of the match from the penalty spot to clinch the win. With their place in Qatar secured, Herve Renard’s side head to Murcia to begin their preparations for the biggest tournament in football. They will face two South American teams in Spain, starting with Colombia before taking on Venezuela on Thursday. Saudi won seven of their 10 third round qualifying games, that included a 1-0 win over Japan in October, 2021.
Colombia on the other hand, had a heartbreaking qualifying campaign, missing out on the top-five by finest of margins. Despite losing fewer games than the teams that finished fourth and fifth, Colombia’s inability to convert draws into wins cost them a spot in the playoffs. Meanwhile after failing to secure qualification, head coach Reinaldo Rueda was replaced with Nesto Lorenzo. The Colombian side is likely to go through a slight transition under the new boss and the squad would be eager to impress the new coach.
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Renard is unlikely to make too many changes to the winning team and will give as much game-time as possible to his squad. Ali Al-Bulaihi is expected to occupy the centre-back position alongside Hassan Al-Tambakti. Meanwhile, forward Firas Al-Buraikan, who found the back of the net three times in the qualification campaign, will lead the attack.
As for Colombia, Lorenzo has called up 20 players for the lone friendly this month, with key individuals such as Yerry Mina and Luis Diaz left out. Tottenham Hotspur’s Davinson Sanchez will lead the defence, which is expected to feature Daniel Munoz, Jhon Lucumi and Kevin Velasco.
Saudi Arabia probable starting lineup: Al-Owais, Al-Burayk, Al-Tambakti, Al-Bulaihi, Al-Shahrani, Kanno, Al-Najei, Bahebri, Al-Faraj, Al-Dawsari, Al-Buraikan
Colombia probable starting lineup: Chunga, Munoz, Sanchez, Lucumi, Velasco, Balanta, Alzate, Agudelo, Campaz, Hernandez, Borre
The international friendly between Saudi Arabia and Colombia will take place at Estadio Nueva Condomina and it will kick-off at 10:30 pm IST on Sunday, June 5.
Unfortunately, there will be no official live telecast or streaming of these games on Indian Television platforms.
