The Saudi national team will lose the services of its captain Salman Al-Faraj in the Australia match on Thursday after he suffered a sudden injury in the “Green” training on Wednesday.
According to the Saudi national team in an official statement, Al-Faraj injured his knee and was transferred to a hospital in Melbourne to undergo the necessary tests and determine the duration of his absence from the stadiums.
This injury is a big blow to coach Herve Renard, who brought Al-Faraj back after a long absence, as soon as he took over the leadership of Saudi Arabia again, considering that his experience and capabilities may help his country return to the path of victories in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
In general, Saudi Arabia is facing many injuries in the current international break, as in addition to Salman Al-Faraj, Abdul-Ilah Al-Malki, Abdul-Ilah Al-Amri, Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti and Salem Al-Dawsari are absent due to various injuries.
The Saudi national team is ranked second in the group with 5 points, tied with Australia and Bahrain, while Japan leads the group with 10 points.
The first and second place teams from each group qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, while the third and fourth place teams move to the fourth stage of the qualifiers.
It is worth noting that the Saudi national team started the qualifiers with a draw against Indonesia in Jeddah, then beat China 2-1, and in the last stoppage, it lost to Japan in Jeddah and drew with Bahrain 0-0, which led to the decision to dismiss Roberto Mancini from his position and return Renard for a second term to coach the Green Falcons.
