Saud Abdulhamid surprise: Al-Hamdan to lead Saudi Arabia in South Korea friendly

Greece's Georgios Donis, the manager of the Saudi Arabia national team, surprised his star Saud Abdulhamid, the Lens full-back, during the friendly match against South Korea in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Saudi Arabia face South Korea today, Friday, at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in the Qatari capital Doha, in their first friendly of the current international break as they prepare for upcoming commitments.

Saud Abdulhamid dropped to the bench. Donis instead handed a starting role at right-back to Al-Qadsiah's Mohammed Abu Alshamat, who had featured as a winger in some previous matches.

Alongside Abu Alshamat, Al-Hilal's Mutaib Al-Harbi takes up the left-back slot, while Abdulelah Al-Amri and Hassan Tambakti pair up in the heart of the defence.

The Greek coach opted for three in midfield, led by Al-Nassr's Abdullah Al-Khaibari and completed by the Al-Hilal duo Mohammed Kanno and Nasser Al-Dawsari.

Up front, Donis had no choice but to shuffle his pack. Abdullah Al-Hamdan keeps his usual role, backed from behind by Mohammed Al-Qahtani and Marwan Al-Sahafi, with Salem Al-Dawsari and Hammam Al-Hammami both sidelined through injury.

The Saudi Arabia line-up was as follows:

Goalkeeper: Mohammed Al-Owais

Defence: Mohammed Abu Alshamat - Hassan Tambakti - Abdulelah Al-Amri - Mutaib Al-Harbi

Midfield: Abdullah Al-Khaibari - Mohammed Kanno - Nasser Al-Dawsari

Attack: Marwan Al-Sahafi - Abdullah Al-Hamdan - Mohammed Al-Qahtani

This marks the 19th meeting between Saudi Arabia and South Korea across friendlies and official fixtures, dating back to their first encounter in 1980.

Across the previous 18 matches, Saudi Arabia have won 5, South Korea have won 6, and 7 have ended level.

Yet the most recent Saudi win came 21 years ago. Back in 2005, they beat South Korea home and away, 2-0 and 1-0, in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.

The two sides have met 6 times since, and Saudi Arabia have failed to win any of them. South Korea took two, with the other 4 drawn.

At friendly level, this is their seventh meeting. That series began in 1980, with South Korea winning twice to Saudi Arabia's single victory and 3 draws.

Saudi Arabia's standout win over South Korea came in the semi-final of the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, when Talal Al-Meshal scored both goals in a 2-1 victory.

Their last meeting came in the round of 16 at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. It finished 1-1 after normal time before South Korea edged through to the quarter-finals on penalties.

Saudi Arabia will stay in Doha for another friendly after this one, taking on Uzbekistan next Tuesday.