Topend Sports Logo

Saudi Arabia at the World Cup

Saudi Arabia had a delayed introduction to the world game, as the royal family had forbidden football in the kingdom until 1951. Saudi Arabia have participated in five previous World Cups, in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018 and 2022.

The country's greatest achievement was reaching the last sixteen at the first appearance at the World Cup in 1994. Shock wins over Belgium and Morocco saw them reach the second round, where Sweden proved too strong and triumphed 3-1.

In 2022, the Saudi Arabia team achieved one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history, defeating one of the tournament favorites Argentina 2-1 in their opening game. However, it was not enough to progress out of the group stage.

Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.



Related Pages

send us a comment Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.

FIFA World Cup Extra

The next men's World Cup will be held held jointly in Canada, USA and Mexico 2026, for the women the next will be Brazil in 2027. See more firsts and other trivia, a quiz, and also information about each country at the World Cup. Most importantly, who are the winners?

More Football

Football (some call it soccer) is the world's most popular sport. There are many major football tournaments, the pinnacle is the FIFA World Cup. See a calendar of what is coming up. There have been many legends of the game, particularly winners of the Ballon d'Or. For players, there are articles about Football Fitness and Fitness Testing.

Major Events Extra

The largest sporting event in the world is the Olympic Games, but there are many other multi-sport games. In terms of single sport events, nothing beats the FIFA World Cup. To see what's coming up, check out the calendar of major sporting events.

 → How to Cite