Saudi Arabia at the AFC Asian Cup

Saudi Arabia is one of the most successful teams in Asia, having won three AFC Asian Cup titles and is one of the stronger teams in the continent. With influential experiences, the Saudi team has been a major force in the Asian Cup.
The Saudis first qualified to the Asian Cup was in 1984, and it was also the first time Saudi Arabia claimed the title. They repeated the feat in 1988 and 1996, before reaching two other finals, both ended in defeats. Having said, Saudi Arabia also has disappointing performances, notably 2004, 2011 and 2015, when Saudi Arabia crashed out from the group stage. Saudi Arabia will play in 2023 edition, looking on their quest to win the Asian Cup in the new millennia. Saudi Arabia will host the 2027 edition which will mark the first time that the country has ever hosted the Asian Cup.
1984 AFC Asian Cup
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Abdullah | Lee Tae-Ho |
| Syria | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Khalifa |
| Qatar | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zaid | Abduljawad |
| Kuwait | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Jam'an |
Knockout stage
- Semi-finals
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Shahin Bayani | Shahrokh Bayani | |
| Penalties | ||
| Abdullah Abduljawad Nu'eimeh Al-Jam'an Al-Musaibeah | 5–4 | |
- Final
| Saudi Arabia | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Nafisah Abdullah |
1988 AFC Asian Cup
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| Syria | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Al-Mutlaq Al-Suwaiyed |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Jazea'a | Report | F. Mohamed |
| China | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Al-Bishi |
Knockout stage
- Semi-finals
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Abdullah | Report |
- Final
| South Korea | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Cho Min-Kook Lee Tae-Ho Byun Byung-Joo Kim Joo-Sung Cho Yoon-Hwan | 3–4 | |
1992 AFC Asian Cup
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Thunayan | Report | Li Bing |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Muwallid | Report | Mustafa |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Owairan Al-Bishi Al-Thunayan | Report |
Knockout stage
- Semi-finals
| Saudi Arabia | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Owairan Al-Bishi | Report |
- Final
| Japan | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Takagi | Report |
1996 AFC Asian Cup
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 6–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Temawi Al-Mehallel Al-Muwallid Al-Jaber | Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Mehallel | Report |
Knockout stage
- Quarter-finals
| Saudi Arabia | 4–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Thunayan Al-Jaber Al-Mehallel | Report | Zhang Enhua Peng Weiguo |
- Semi-finals
| Iran | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Daei Peyrovani Yazdani Estili Bagheri Khakpour | 3–4 | |
- Final
| United Arab Emirates | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| M. Ali Saleh K. Saad Saeed | 2–4 | |
2000 AFC Asian Cup
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Morioka | Report | Yanagisawa Takahara Nanami Ono |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 5–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Otaibi Al-Shalhoub Al-Temyat | Report |
Knockout stage
- Quarter-finals
| Kuwait | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bashar Abdullah Al-Huwaidi | Report | Al-Temyat Al-Meshal |
- Semi-finals
| South Korea | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Dong-Gook | Report | Al-Meshal |
- Final
| Japan | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mochizuki | Report |
2004 AFC Asian Cup
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Qahtani | Report | N. Bayramov Kuliyev |
| Uzbekistan | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Geynrikh | Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Montashari | Report | Akram Mahmoud |
2007 AFC Asian Cup
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 |
| South Korea | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Choi Sung-Kuk | Report | Y. Al-Qahtani |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Y. Al-Qahtani Al-Harthi | Report | Aiboy |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Mousa A. Al-Qahtani Al-Jassim | Report |
Knockout stage
- Quarter-finals
| Saudi Arabia | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Y. Al-Qahtani Al-Mousa | Report | Solomin |
- Semi-finals
| Japan | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Nakazawa Abe | Report | Y. Al-Qahtani Mouath |
- Final
| Iraq | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mahmoud | Report |
2011 AFC Asian Cup
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 |
| 9 January 2011 | ||
| Saudi Arabia | 1–2 | |
| 13 January 2011 | ||
| Jordan | 1–0 | |
| 17 January 2011 | ||
| Saudi Arabia | 0–5 |
2015 AFC Asian Cup
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
| 10 January 2015 | |||
| Saudi Arabia | 0–1[1] | Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | |
| 14 January 2015 | |||
| North Korea | 1–4[2] | AAMI Park, Melbourne | |
| 18 January 2015 | |||
| Uzbekistan | 3–1 | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
2019 AFC Asian Cup
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Lebanon | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Saudi Arabia | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Knockout stage
- Round of 16
2023 AFC Asian Cup
Group F
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Knockout stage
Round of 16
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 2–4 | ||
Overall record
| AFC Asian Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
| Not an AFC member | Not an AFC member | |||||||||||||||
| Withdrew | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Withdrew | ||||||||||||||||
| Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | Automatic qualification as champions | ||||||||
| Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | Automatic qualification as champions | ||||||||
| Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | Automatic qualification as champions | ||||||||
| Group stage | 13th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |||
| Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 4 | |||
| Group stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | Automatic qualification as runners-up | ||||||||
| 10th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | ||||
| Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 4 | |||
| 10th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 4 | ||||
| Qualified as hosts | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Total | 3 Titles | 12/19 | 52 | 23 | 15 | 14 | 74 | 50 | 54 | 43 | 7 | 4 | 164 | 24 | ||
Head-to-head record
| AFC Asian Cup matches (by team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | |
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | |
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 14 | -10 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | |
| 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | |
See also
References
- ^ "2015 AFC Asian Cup: China 1-0 Saudi Arabia - CCTV News - CCTV.com English". english.cntv.cn. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "Cup's open arms and open goals". www.heraldsun.com.au. January 14, 2015.