Saudi Arabia in a new shape: Donis sacrifices Al-Hamdan against Oman, and the return of the Al-Hilal trio

Saudi Arabia look different

Greek head coach of the Saudi Arabia national team, Georgios Donis, decided to leave out his striker Abdullah Al-Hamdan from the starting line-up for the match against Oman, in the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27".

The Green Falcons face Oman today, Saturday, at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah, in the second round of Group A matches at the Gulf tournament.

Donis turned to Firas Al-Buraikan from the start, dropping Al-Hamdan to the bench after the striker drew widespread criticism for his poor display in Wednesday's 1-0 win over Kuwait.

Al-Buraikan was not the only fresh face up front. The Greek coach also brought in Sultan Mandash, while restoring Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat to the right-back slot at the expense of Nawaf Boushal.

Alongside Mandash, two other Al-Hilal stars returned to the line-up. Goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais came in to cover for the injured Nawaf Al-Aqidi, while defender Hassan Tambakti replaced Abdulelah Al-Amri.

Completing the five changes, midfielder Alaa Al-Hajji stepped into the starting eleven, with Nasser Al-Dawsari dropping to the bench.

Saudi Arabia top Group A in Gulf 27 with 3 points, two ahead of both Iraq and Oman, while Kuwait sit bottom with none.

A win of any kind would guarantee the Green Falcons direct qualification to the semi-finals, regardless of the result of their final group match against Iraq next Tuesday.

The Saudi Arabia line-up was as follows:

Goalkeeper: Mohammed Al-Owais

Defence: Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat - Hassan Tambakti - Hassan Kadesh - Mutaib Al-Harbi

Midfield: Sultan Mandash - Alaa Al-Hajji - Mohammed Kanno - Hammam Al-Hammami

Attack: Saleh Abu Al-Shamat - Firas Al-Buraikan