Saudi Green’s World Cup 2026 Playbook: Four Breaks, One Goal, and a Dash of Patience

Saudi Arabia’s national team has a clear mission after officially qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico next summer.

The Green earned their place for the seventh time in their history, and the third in a row, thanks to a goalless draw with Iraq, finishing top of Asia’s playoff group on four points and ahead on goal difference from the Lions of Mesopotamia.

The big challenge is not only the World Cup itself but also preparing optimally in the lead-up to the tournament to reach the ultimate objective.

The main goal is to advance from the group stage, especially as chances of qualification rise with the top two teams and the best eight third-placed teams across 12 groups progressing.

To achieve this, careful planning is needed to maximize the roughly eight months left before the World Cup and the four international breaks scheduled for November, December, March, and June.

Technical Stability

For this objective, Saudi needs a stable technical setup, both at the coaching level and among the players.

Yasser Al-Meshal, president of the Saudi Football Federation, confirmed that French coach Hervé Renard will remain in charge through the World Cup and through the 2027 Asian Cup—an especially important point.

Keeping Renard in place guarantees continuity; even if progress is slow, the team benefits from continued transmission of the same tactical ideas to the same recipients.

If he were to depart, players would have to adapt to a new manager with different personality, ideas, and approach, something unlikely to be absorbed in just four international breaks before the World Cup.

That would be an uncalculated gamble with potentially unfavorable consequences, and a new head coach would not be responsible for results of a team taken on less than a year before the tournament, risking everything.

Core Squad

To bolster stability, the staff must rely on a defined group of players to speed the transfer of ideas and ensure consistency on the pitch.

Recent reports indicate FIFA is weighing increasing the squad size from 26 to 30 players to reduce fatigue amid a congested calendar.

Under this scenario, Renard should cap his selections at roughly 35 players across upcoming international windows, with 30 regulars and 5 substitutes available for injuries or tactical tweaks.

Reducing the squad can help to better transmit ideas to a select group who will bear the load on match day.

It won’t be easy, as Saudi press reports noted that 49 players featured for the team in the World Cup 2026 qualifiers, meaning Renard will need to skip a sizable portion of that group.

World Cup Roadmap

From now until the 2026 World Cup, Saudi will undergo four international breaks. The first is in November, with two friendlies yet to be announced, giving Renard a chance to tighten plans and improve cohesion.

The team should be strong in these friendlies to boost their FIFA ranking ahead of the December draw, where the pot placement can affect group difficulty.

Currently positioned around 59th in the world, the Green could find themselves in a challenging fourth pot, facing tougher group opponents.

The second break is in December, when Saudi will participate in the Arab Cup in Doha. Yasser Al-Meshal has stated the squad will travel with its core group, as this will provide the closest thing to official games before the World Cup.

Renard will need to approach Arab Cup matches with maximum intensity to sharpen weaknesses before the final two breaks ahead of the World Cup.

Saudi Arabia’s group in the Arab Cup includes Morocco, plus the winners of Oman-Somalia and Yemen-Comoros matches, so wins will be crucial to set a confident tone for the run-in.

The third break is in March, the first time the team will play friendlies after the World Cup draw, according to the December draw. They must test tactics against teams akin to their eventual World Cup opponents, balancing defense and attack to better expose strengths and weaknesses.

The final international break will be in June, just days before the tournament, when the team should face opponents of a similar level but with less intensity to avoid injuries ahead of the start.

In short, Saudi Arabia will approach the run-in with a plan to face teams resembling their group foes, but at a slightly lower tempo to protect readiness for kickoff.

Punchline 1: If patience were a formation, Saudi would be playing a 4-3-2-1—solid defense, patient build-up, and a little extra time on the bench to rest the nerves.

Punchline 2: They say practice makes perfect; in this case, four international breaks means four chances to pretend you’re a favorite—until the whistle blows and the scoreboard does the talking.