RIYADH,Jan 2: The Saudi national football team's coach, Roberto Mancini, revealed the final roster for the upcoming Asian Cup in Qatar this month. This announcement came after the exclusion of four players from the initial squad he had disclosed last Saturday.

The omitted players are goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Yami, midfielder Ali Hazazi, and strikers Khaled Al-Ghanem and Mohamed Maran. The confirmed squad consists of 26 players, with Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Raghed Najjar, and Ahmed Al-Kassar as goalkeepers. The defensive lineup includes Hassan Kadish, Aoun Al-Saluli, Ali Al-Bulaihi, Ali Lagami, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Saud Abdul-Hamid, Fawaz Al-Saqour, and Abdullah Al-Khaybari. The midfield comprises Abdul-Ilah Al-Maliki, Mukhtar Ali, Faisal Al-Ghamdi, Eid Al-Mawlid, Salem Al-Dosari, Abbas Al-Hassan, Nasser Al-Dosari, Muhammad Kanno, and Sami Al-Naji. The attacking options feature Fahd Al-Mawlid, Ayman Yahya, Abdul-Rahman Gharib, Firas Al-Braikan, Abdullah Radif, and Saleh Al-Shehri.

During their current training camp in Doha, the team is scheduled to play three friendly matches, starting with Lebanon tomorrow, followed by a match against the Palestine national team five days later, and concluding with a fixture against Hong Kong on January 10.

In the preceding three stages of preparation, Saudi Arabia engaged in six friendly matches against teams such as Venezuela, Bolivia, Costa Rica, South Korea, Nigeria, and Mali. Additionally, Al-Akhdar participated in two matches during the first round of the second phase of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, facing Pakistan and Jordan.

As a three-time Asian champion, Saudi Arabia is set to compete in Group 6 of the Asian Cup, alongside Oman, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand, with the tournament kicking off on January 12.