“Al-Akhdar” organizes itself in the Doha camp... and begins its training on Monday

On Sunday evening, the Saudi national team players attended their preparatory camp scheduled for the period from November 8 to 17, in the Qatari capital, Doha.

The “Green” program was limited to players gathering at their hotel residence, without participating in any field training session, as Green members coming from various regions flocked to join the preparatory camp.

Al-Akhdar is scheduled to launch his training program with a training session on Monday evening at the Al-Ersal Stadium, which will be closed.

The Saudi Federation had followed up on the condition of the injured players, as Hammam Al-Hammami joined the camp after coordination with Al-Shabab Club, to complete the final stage of his rehabilitation program under the supervision of the national team’s medical staff.

On a related note, player Alaa Al Hajji has made remarkable progress in his rehabilitation program at the Aspetar Center, and is scheduled to conclude it next week, after the injury he suffered during the “27th Gulf Cup” competitions.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi continues to progress in his rehabilitation program under the supervision of the Al-Nasr Club’s medical staff, and will complete his program at the Aspetar Center starting next week.

Players Hassan Kadish and Zakaria Hawsawi are also continuing their rehabilitation programs in their clubs.

During the camp, Al-Akhdar will play two friendly matches at Khalifa bin Hamad Stadium, the Al-Sadd Club stadium. The South Korean national team will meet on the 13th of November, while it will face the Uzbekistan national team on the 17th of the same month.

The Saudi national team's list for the November camp, which was announced by the technical staff led by coach Denis, carried clear messages about the latter's efforts to pump new blood and prepare others for the battlefield of international competitions.

The list witnessed the addition of three names who have the opportunity to wear the Saudi national team shirt for the first time in their international career, and they are: Sultan Tankar, Al-Hazm defender, Abdullah Al-Khatib, Al-Ittifaq defender, and Fares Abdi, Al-Ittihad player.

Sultan Tankar presented consistent defensive levels in the professional league this season, playing in 11 matches, including 10 starts, for a total of 908 minutes, and an average of 83 minutes per match. He succeeded in entering the squad of the week twice, and contributed to keeping his team’s clean sheet in two matches, recording an outstanding clearance rate of 5.5 balls per match, and a passing accuracy of 88 percent, with a rate of 23.8 correct passes per match.

In the same context, Abdullah Al-Khatib is considered one of the most prominent names with comprehensive offensive and defensive numbers, as he played 12 matches, including 11 as a starter, for a total of 1,031 minutes. He was able to score two goals, one with the head and the other with the left foot, and he made another goal, with a high passing accuracy of 91 percent, with a rate of 40.5 correct passes. He also showed a remarkable speed of 35.4 kilometers per hour, and contributed to clean sheets in 3 matches without committing any direct error.

As for Fares Abedi, he played 11 starting matches for a total of 923 minutes and entered the squad of the week once. Despite not scoring goals, he is considered an important player in providing an expected assist of 0.75 and an average of 1.0 key passes per match, in addition to his offensive activity by touching the ball 69.1 times and passing accuracy reaching 88 percent, and recording an average of 2.5 tackles per match while excelling in 45 percent of tackles.

Regarding the names that have a previous international record but were called up for the first time under Donis’ leadership, the coach decided to bring back the duo, Turki Al-Ammar, who has 13 international matches, and Muhammad Al-Kuwaikbi, who has 9 international matches, to provide the technical addition and their field experience to support the team’s ranks.

The list also includes a third category, represented by players who were previously called up and did not participate in any international matches, including Abdel Malik Al-Ayiri, NEOM player, who had previously received an invitation to join the list during the era of former coach Hervé Renard without playing any international matches.

He is currently called up to monitor his development after playing 12 matches this season, including 11 starts, for a total of 894 minutes, an average of 75 minutes per match. He recorded an accuracy of 85 percent of passes while excelling in 64 percent of aerial tackles. He also recorded a remarkable speed of 35.8 km per hour.

Goalkeeper Hamed Al-Shanqeeti is also awaiting his first international appearance after being called up on more than one previous occasion.