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Saudi Arabia’s loss to Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup reminded of some of the tough results Al-Akhdar suffered in their previous appearances in the tournament, especially as Saudi Arabia is one of the most present Arab and Asian teams at the World Cup, having participated in several games since their first appearance in 1994.
The defeat to Germany at the 2002 World Cup remains Saudi Arabia’s heaviest in World Cup history, having suffered 0-8 defeats in South Korea and Japan earlier in their campaign.
Overall, the match was one of the most brutal results in World Cup history after Germany imposed complete control from the opening minutes until the final whistle.
16 years later, Al-Akhdar suffered their second-heaviest World Cup defeat in their opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, losing 5-0 to Russia, a result that was widely criticized at the time for Saudi Arabia’s lackluster performance against the hosts.
As for third place, more than one match has been tied, most notably the 0-4 loss to Ukraine at the 2006 World Cup, which came after Saudi Arabia drew with Tunisia in the first round before qualification hopes were virtually dashed after falling to Ukraine.
Spain’s defeat at the 2026 World Cup was added to the same list after Saudi Arabia were thrashed 4-0 in a match that saw Spain’s clear superiority at technical and tactical levels, especially in the first half hour, in which the Greens conceded three goals.
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Saudi Arabia suffered another four-goal defeat when they lost 4–0 to France at the 1998 World Cup in a difficult campaign that saw them exit the tournament without a win in the group stage.
Looking at the numbers, the order of Saudi Arabia’s biggest defeats at the World Cup starts with Germany in 2002 (0-8), Russia in 2018 (0-5), France in 1998 (0-4), Ukraine in 2006 (0-4) and Spain (0-4) in the 2026 edition.
Despite the harshness of these results, the history of the Saudi Arabian team in the World Cup is not reduced to defeats only, as it includes exceptional stations, especially reaching the last 16 in 1994 and the historic victory over Argentina in the 2022 World Cup, which confirm that Al-Akhdar always had the opportunity to climb the most difficult.
