Overview
Senegal has just been stripped of the African championship title they won after an impressive victory over Morocco in the final. Although the case is still awaiting a final ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), coach Pape Thiaw's team is forced to quickly shift their focus to the 2026 World Cup.
Because the season in the top European national leagues ended quite late, Senegal does not have much time to prepare for the biggest football festival on the planet. Friendly matches in the current gathering are a rare opportunity for them to complete their squad.
Senegal's most recent performance was not really convincing when they lost narrowly 2-3 to Mauricio Pochettino's US team. Although controlling the ball slightly more than the opponent (53% compared to 47%), Senegal was clearly inferior in terms of number of chances when they only launched 7 shots compared to 17 of the 2026 World Cup host team.
That was also the third consecutive defeat of the African representative after defeats against Belgium (2-5) and Portugal (0-2). Before the confrontation with Saudi Arabia, Senegal really wanted to regain confidence. At the 2026 World Cup, they are in Group I with France, Norway and Iraq.
On the other side of the battle line, Saudi Arabia also does not have an ideal preparation for the tournament in North America. If Senegal's problem lies in the lack of preparation time and stability after the long European season, Saudi Arabia is facing major changes on the coaching bench.
Georgios Donis was only appointed last April to replace Herve Renard. The second term of the French strategist ended abruptly after information that he had contact with the Ghana Football Federation.
Besides, two consecutive defeats against Egypt (0-4) and Serbia (1-2) in the March training camp further shaken Renard's position, before he was officially sacked.
Donis taking over the national team just two months before the World Cup made Saudi Arabia almost not have enough time to build a stable squad.
The Asian representative will enter the tournament with a lot of pressure when falling into Group H with Uruguay, Spain and Cape Verde. Although the extended format allows some third-placed teams to have good results to win tickets to the next round, Saudi Arabia's chances are still considered not high.
Personnel situation
Although only playing for about an hour in the match against the USA, Sadio Mane still managed to leave his mark with a double goal. However, Senegal's number one star is likely to be given rest by Pape Thiaw in the upcoming match to ensure the best physical condition.
On Saudi Arabia's side, Georgios Donis will still place great faith in Salem Al-Dawsari, a player considered the leader in the attack of this team.
Al-Dawsari has currently scored 27 goals for the national team and continues to be Saudi Arabia's biggest hope. However, the Asian team still possesses other notable attacking options such as Saleh Al-Shehri with 18 goals and Firas Al-Buraikan, who has scored 15 goals for the national team.
Expected lineup:
Saudi Arabia: Al-Owais, Boushal, Al-Amri, Altambakti, Kadesh, Mandash, Kanno, Al-Khaibari, Al-Ghannam, Al-Buraikan, Al-Juwayr.
Diaw, Diatta, Seck, Sarr, Diouf, P. Gueye, S. Ndiaye, Dieng, Diarra, Diao, C. Ndiaye.
The match between Saudi Arabia and Senegal takes place at 6:00 AM on June 10 (Vietnam time).
