Analyzing Saudi Arabia’s Tactics Ahead of Historic Pakistan Clash

Saudi Arabia men’s football team will face Pakistan in a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying encounter tonight. The match will be staged at Al-Fateh Stadium, Al-Hasa City on 16th November 2023 at 9:30 PM (Pakistan time).

The Saudi team is coached by English Premier League (PL), Italian Seria A, and UEFA European Championship-winning coach Roberto Mancini. He is assisted by multiple-time PL, Spanish La Liga, and UEFA Champions League winner, Yaya Toure.

Let’s have a look at what to expect from Saudi Arabia in this clash.

Mancini adopted a 4-3-3 formation while coaching teams in Europe, but watching his early days in the Middle East, one can see that he has switched to a 4-1-4-1 game plan. There is a heavy reliance on Abdul Al-Khaibiri as the defensive midfielder while center-back Hassan Tambakti plays a role in building up play for the attackers to feed on.

The Saudi side likes to keep the ball in the center of the pitch and relies more on center passing rather than chasing the wing constantly. English Premier League side Liverpool are known for their diagonal passing due to the excellence of their full-backs Trent Alexander Arnold and Andrew Robertson. Saudi won’t go with the Liverpool approach, rather they’ll fancy staying within the center of the ground.

Analyzing Saudi Arabia’s positional attacks while playing their last five matches, one can see that they don’t have a strong point or a stranglehold on a particular wing. In some games, they have equally attacked from both the left and right sides, but in one particular instance, all of their attacks came from the center.

It will be interesting to see whether they attack from both wings or come from the center because Saudi Arabia haven’t faced a side where they will keep 85-90% possession of the ball.

Mancini might embrace the 4-4-2 formation when goals are required and the wide midfielders need to run up and down. Mostly, this situation arises when the match is stuck on 0-0 and a positive outcome is required.

4-4-2 is the same formation that Pakistan employed against Cambodia to progress to the 2nd round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time in their 76 years of history. The wide midfielders played a massive role in both defending and attacking phases.