Saudi Arabia

Manager Georgios Donis has had only three games in charge. All three of these games came after he had selected his squad for the World Cup - not exactly ideal. Saudi Arabia are in this situation because they waited until April to sack Hervé Renard. Renard's second stint with Saudi Arabia was an underwhelming tenure that saw the team barely scrape into the World Cup (they certainly wouldn't have qualified were it not for the expanded format).

Donis hasn't changed too much - perhaps not a great thing, but understandable. Saudi Arabia line up out of a standard 4-4-2 mid-block defensive shape that can turn into a 4-2-3-1 with the ball, as Musab Al-Juwayr takes a freewheeling role between the midfield line and primary striker Firas Al-Buraikan. The wingers that push up to form the midfield trio in this build-up pattern are given the freedom to overlap and rotate liberally, while Al-Buraikan runs in behind the opponent backline - hoping to create enough space for a pass into the box or for the wingers themselves to carry the ball forward. One of the wingers in question is sure to be Salem Al-Dawsari, but the other spot is up in the air and could go to Sultan Mandash, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat or Nasser Al-Dawsari (no relation to Salem). The other places are more or less set, with a consistent back four protected by a double pivot of Mohamed Kanno and Abdullah Al-Khaibari.