Cracking the Curse: Can Salem Al-Dawsari Lead Saudi Arabia to Arab Cup Glory in Qatar?

Opening Night: The Arab Cup Opener and the Group That Sets the Scene

The Saudi national team is preparing for the opening act of their Arab Cup journey in Qatar this December, coming off a group that was finalized as the qualifiers wrapped up.

The Green’s group was completed with Oman advancing over Somalia and Comoros beating Yemen, leaving Morocco as the fourth side in the pool.

The Saudis’ first test will come against Oman, a familiar Gulf derby that has produced memorable meetings in the past.

Shocking memories

The Saudi-Arabian clash with Oman is scheduled for Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, per the national team’s official account. Yet this venue has not brought much joy to the Green or its captain Salem Al-Dawsari.

Memories and the Penalty Curse

In this stadium, Saudi Arabia previously faced Poland in the 2022 World Cup and were beaten 2-0.

After a historic victory over Argentina, the Saudis hoped to keep their momentum, but were halted by outcomes against Poland and Mexico later on.

Against Poland, the Saudis had a golden chance to level after going behind in the first half when a penalty was awarded to Al-Shehri, but Salem Al-Dawsari missed.

The miss left a painful memory for the Al-Hilal star and the Saudi national team, lingering in minds for a long time, especially since he has yet to shake the curse of penalty misses, with the World Cup qualifiers seeing more misses as well.

On this pitch, Dawsari did not only miss a penalty; he also failed to capitalize on a brilliantly timed start against Messi and his teammates, and many predicted a strong start under Hervé Renard that could herald a repeat of Saudi Arabia’s 1994 World Cup run by advancing from the group.

Yet that defeat brought the Green back to reality and trimmed their qualification hopes, should they need at least a draw with Mexico in the final round.

A Hundred Caps and the Road Ahead

Salem Al-Dawsari, recently crowned Asia’s best player, hopes to shake off the curse at the same stadium and lead the Saudis to the desired result against Oman, starting a robust Green push. The group is balanced yet risky, with an opening clash against Comoros followed by a second against Morocco, a side not weaker than many Africa Cup participants.

Al-Dawsari was recently honored for reaching 100 international appearances, placing him among Saudi football’s historic greats who have surpassed the 100-cap mark.

In those 100 caps, he has started 90 times and come on as a substitute 10 times, while being substituted in 34 matches and playing 56 full games. He has scored 24 international goals, with 5 assists and 6 misses ashore in his journey.

Although he has reached 100 caps, Al-Dawsari had never played in the Arab Cup before. The Saudi media noted that his most frequent appearances were in friendlies (31), with 14 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers—the longest stretch for the Green in the buildup—along with 13 in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

In the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers he played five matches, and the same count in the 2014 Gulf Cup in Saudi Arabia; he also appeared four times in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar and in the 2025 Gulf Cup in Kuwait. He featured in three matches across other tournaments: Gulf Cup 2013, AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia, World Cup 2018 in Russia and again in 2022 in Qatar, plus three more in Gulf Cup 2019 and the same year in the AFC Asian Cup in the UAE.

Contending for the title

Saudi Arabia hopes to compete for the Arab Cup crown, a tournament that offers a real gateway for participating teams, especially the continent’s heavyweight names. Renard, the French coach, views the Arab Cup as strong World Cup 2026 preparation, despite facing varied footballing schools and opponents from different continents, as FIFA explained in the draw for the finals scheduled for December 5 in the United States.

Two punchlines, just to keep it light: 1) If penalties were sniper shots, Dawsari’s aim would be legendary—the problem is the target keeps moving. 2) In football, the loneliest sniper is the goalkeeper who watched that penalty fly wide—talk about a headshot to the confidence, and a comedy special for the bench.