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Saudi Arabia Gulf 27 Squad: Donis Excludes Captain Salem Al-Dawsari

Football team posing for a group photo on field
Football

Georgios Donis has wasted no time putting his stamp on Saudi Arabia. The Greek head coach has named his squad for the Gulf Cup “Gulf 27” in Jeddah – and ripped up a few assumptions along the way.

The headline is brutal in its simplicity: no Salem Al-Dawsari. The national team captain, a fixture for the Green Falcons and a World Cup starter in the United States, Canada and Mexico, has been left out. So has Roma defender Saud Abdulhamid, another of the World Cup regulars.

Eight players who went to the World Cup are missing from this Gulf 27 squad. Alongside Salem Al-Dawsari and Saud Abdulhamid, Ahmed Al-Kassar, Ali Majrashi, Ali Lajami, Ayman Yahya, Saleh Al-Shehri and Khalid Al-Ghannam have all been cut. For a new coach, this is not a gentle transition. It is a reset.

New faces for a new cycle

Those omissions opened the door for a wave of newcomers. Donis has called up eight fresh names: Hamed Al-Shanqiti, Mohammed Mahzari, Zakaria Hawsawi, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, Abdullah Al-Salem, Rayan Hamed and Hammam Al-Hammami.

It is a clear message. Reputation counts, but not as much as form and fit. Donis wants energy, competition, and players who can adapt quickly to his ideas before a ball is kicked in Jeddah.

Final squad for Gulf 27

According to the Saudi national team’s official account on X, the final list for Gulf 27 features 26 players:

Goalkeepers:

  • Mohammed Al-Owais
  • Nawaf Al-Aqidi
  • Hamed Al-Shanqiti

Defenders:

  • Abdulelah Al-Amri
  • Jihad Zikri
  • Rayan Hamed
  • Hassan Kadesh
  • Hassan Tambakti
  • Nawaf Boushal
  • Mohammed Mahzari
  • Mutaib Al-Harbi
  • Zakaria Hawsawi

Midfielders:

  • Musab Al-Juwayr
  • Mohammed Al-Qahtani
  • Mohammed Kanno
  • Ziyad Al-Johani
  • Abdullah Al-Khaibari
  • Nasser Al-Dawsari
  • Alaa Haji
  • Sultan Mandash
  • Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat
  • Hammam Al-Hammami
  • Saleh Abu Al-Shamat

Forwards:

  • Abdullah Al-Hamdan
  • Firas Al-Buraikan
  • Abdullah Al-Salem

Gulf 27: a testing ground in Jeddah

The tournament, hosted in Jeddah from 23 September to 6 October, will give Donis an immediate examination of his choices and his courage.

Saudi Arabia sit in Group One, drawn with Kuwait, Oman and Iraq. Group Two brings together Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Yemen, setting up a compact, competitive regional battle.

The Green Falcons open against Kuwait on 23 September at Al-Inma Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City. Oman await on 26 September, before Iraq close out the group-stage schedule on the 29th.

Three games, six days, and no hiding place. For Donis, this is not just a Gulf Cup. It is the first hard look at a new Saudi core, built without some of the biggest names of the last cycle.

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