Mexico and Saudi Arabia face off against each other on 1st December at the Lusail stadium in Qatar. Saudi Arabia is one of the lowest-ranked sides in the tournament, meaning they will play without a lot of pressure and look to take down the big fishes of the competition. Mexico has been playing every World Cup since 1994 and is a regular face now. They have produced many brilliant individual stars but have yet to go big at the international level as a team. This world cup may be a good chance for them to be part of a very open group.
Mexico will be coached by the former Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino at the world cup. He will help guide Mexico to the later stages of the competition. Saudi Arabia has yet to qualify for the knockout phase of the world cup in their previous four attempts. This time they will look to produce an upset and move into the round of 16.
Table of Contents
Official FIFA World Cup Broadcasting networks
Mexico
The FIFA World Cup in Mexico will be telecasted through Sky, Televisia and TV Azteca networks. These networks will cover the entire world cup on their channels in the country. Mexico is always known for having passionate football fans, and they can follow their team’s path to glory at the world cup via these television networks.
Saudi Arabia
All the countries that fall under the MENA list will have beIN Sports as their television network for the FIFA World Cup. BeIN Sports is the official world cup broadcast in Saudi Arabia, and all the matches will be broadcast live on their network.
Fixture table for both the teams
DATE | MATCH | STADIUM |
22nd November | Lusail Stadium | |
22nd November | Mexico VS Poland | Stadium 974 |
26th November | Poland VS Saudi Arabia | Education City Stadium |
27th November | Argentina VS Mexico | Lusail Stadium |
1st December | Mexico VS Saudi Arabia | Lusail Stadium |
The above table showcases the fixtures that Saudi Arabia and Mexico will play before they meet each other in the FIFA World Cup. Both the teams could be in better shape heading into the world cup. Mexico has only one win in their last five games, which included three losses. Saudi Arabia has only one win in their previous five matches with two losses. These sides will want to improve with the world cup on their heels as soon as possible.
Things to watch out for
- Mexico will have their goal-scoring hopes on their main man, Raul Jimenez. He has been in sensational form for his premier league side Wolverhampton Wanderers. It is safe to say that the Mexican world cup dreams rest on his shoulders. His condition will be key for them at the world cup.
- All the Saudi Arabia players are home-based talents. This means the entire team plays in the Saudi professional league in their country. Most of the players play for top clubs Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
- Salem Al-Dawsari will be Saudi Arabia’s leading man in front of the goal. The winger has scored seven goals in the world cup qualifiers for the team. he has scored 17 goals for his country in 67 appearances and will be essential at the world cup.
Table of FIFA World Cup Squads
Saudi Arabia
ROLE | PLAYERS |
Goalkeepers | Amin Bukhari, Mohammed Al-Owais, Fawaz Al-Qarni, Mohammed Al-Rubaie. |
Defenders | Hassan Tamnakti, Abdullah Madu, Ahmed Sharahili, Ziyad Al-Sahafi, Mohammed Al-Breik, Saaud Abdulhamid, Yasser Al-Shahrani, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Moteb Al-Harbi. |
Midfielders | Salman Al-Faraj, Hattan Bahebri, Salem Al-Dawsari, Ali Al-Hassan, Sami Al-Najei, Khalid Al-Ghannam, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Abdulrahman Al-Aboud, Abdulaziz Al-Bishi, Mohamed Kanno, Fahad Al-Muwallad. |
Attackers | Firas Al-Buraikan, Saleh Al-Shehri, Abdullah Al-Hamdan. |
Coach | Herve Renard |
Mexico
ROLE | PLAYERS |
Goalkeepers | Rodolfo Cota, Guillermo Ochoa, Alfredo Talavera. |
Defenders | Kevin Alvarez, Jesus Angulo, Nestor Araujo, Gerardo Arteaga, Jesus Gallardo, Cesar Montes, Hector Moreno, Jorge Sanchez, Johan Vasquez. |
Midfielders | Edson Alvarez, Luis Chavez, Andres Guardado, Erick Gutierrez, Hector Herrea, Orbelin Pineda, Carlos Rodriguez, Luis Romo, Erick Sanchez. |
Attackers | Roberto Alvarado, Uriel Antuna, Jesus Corona, Rogelio Funes Mori, Santiago Gimenez, Raul Jimenez, Diego Lainez, Hirving Lozano, Henry Martin, Alexis Vega. |
Coach | Gerardo Martino |
This is the provisional squad that both the team management has selected. According to FIFA, the final squad list of both countries will be out by 13th November, which is the last date to submit.