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Saudi Arabia is one of the most successful teams in Asia, having won three AFC Asian Cup titles and is one of the stronger teams in the continent. With influential experiences, the Saudi team has been a major force in the Asian Cup.
The Saudis first qualified to the Asian Cup was in 1984, and it was also the first time Saudi Arabia claimed the title. They repeated the feat in 1988 and 1996, before reaching two other finals, both ended in defeats. Having said, Saudi Arabia also has disappointing performances, notably 2004, 2011 and 2015, when Saudi Arabia crashed out from the group stage. Saudi Arabia will play in 2023 edition, looking on their quest to win the Asian Cup in the new millennia. Saudi Arabia will host the 2027 edition which will mark the first time that the country has ever hosted the Asian Cup.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Abdullah |
Lee Tae-Ho |
| Syria | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Khalifa |
| Qatar | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zaid |
Abduljawad |
| Kuwait | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Jam'an |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Shahin Bayani |
Shahrokh Bayani |
|
| Penalties | ||
| Abdullah Abduljawad Nu'eimeh Al-Jam'an Al-Musaibeah |
5–4 | |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Nafisah Abdullah |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| Syria | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Al-Mutlaq Al-Suwaiyed |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Jazea'a |
Report | F. Mohamed |
| China | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Al-Bishi |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Abdullah |
Report |
| South Korea | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Cho Min-Kook Lee Tae-Ho Byun Byung-Joo Kim Joo-Sung Cho Yoon-Hwan |
3–4 | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Thunayan |
Report | Li Bing |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Muwallid |
Report | Mustafa |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Owairan Al-Bishi Al-Thunayan |
Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Owairan Al-Bishi |
Report |
| Japan | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Takagi |
Report |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 6–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Temawi Al-Mehallel Al-Muwallid Al-Jaber |
Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Mehallel |
Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Thunayan Al-Jaber Al-Mehallel |
Report | Zhang Enhua Peng Weiguo |
| Iran | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Daei Peyrovani Yazdani Estili Bagheri Khakpour |
3–4 | |
| United Arab Emirates | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| M. Ali Saleh K. Saad Saeed |
2–4 | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Morioka |
Report | Yanagisawa Takahara Nanami Ono |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 5–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Otaibi Al-Shalhoub Al-Temyat |
Report |
| Kuwait | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bashar Abdullah Al-Huwaidi |
Report | Al-Temyat Al-Meshal |
| South Korea | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Dong-Gook |
Report | Al-Meshal |
| Japan | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mochizuki |
Report |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Qahtani |
Report | N. Bayramov Kuliyev |
| Uzbekistan | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Geynrikh |
Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Montashari |
Report | Akram Mahmoud |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 |
| South Korea | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Choi Sung-Kuk |
Report | Y. Al-Qahtani |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Y. Al-Qahtani Al-Harthi |
Report | Aiboy |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Mousa A. Al-Qahtani Al-Jassim |
Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Y. Al-Qahtani Al-Mousa |
Report | Solomin |
| Japan | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Nakazawa Abe |
Report | Y. Al-Qahtani Mouath |
| Iraq | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mahmoud |
Report |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 |
| 9 January 2011 | ||
| Saudi Arabia |
1–2 | |
| 13 January 2011 | ||
| Jordan |
1–0 | |
| 17 January 2011 | ||
| Saudi Arabia |
0–5 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
| 10 January 2015 | |||
| Saudi Arabia |
0–1[1] | Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | |
| 14 January 2015 | |||
| North Korea |
1–4[2] | AAMI Park, Melbourne | |
| 18 January 2015 | |||
| Uzbekistan |
3–1 | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Lebanon | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Saudi Arabia | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 2–4 | ||
| AFC Asian Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
| Not an AFC member | Not an AFC member | |||||||||||||||
| Withdrew | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Withdrew | ||||||||||||||||
| Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | Automatic qualification as champions | ||||||||
| Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | Automatic qualification as champions | ||||||||
| Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | Automatic qualification as champions | ||||||||
| Group stage | 13th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |||
| Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 4 | |||
| Group stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | Automatic qualification as runners-up | ||||||||
| 10th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | ||||
| Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 4 | |||
| 10th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 4 | ||||
| Qualified as hosts | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Total | 3 Titles | 12/19 | 52 | 23 | 15 | 14 | 74 | 50 | 54 | 43 | 7 | 4 | 164 | 24 | ||
| AFC Asian Cup matches (by team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | |
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | |
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 14 | -10 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | |
| 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | |