In the video: a Saudi journalist. Not going to the round of 32 would be a disaster

A journalist from Saudi Arabia considered that the absence of his country’s national team from the 32nd round of the World Cup would be a disaster, especially after the number of teams participating in the World Cup reached 48.

A little later, the Saudi Arabian team will meet with Cape VerdeIn the third, last round of the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the NRG Stadium in Houston, USA.

A few hours before the match, Khaled Al-Shaneif, the host of the “Durina Gir” program of the Saudi TV channel, said:

He added: “Despite the participation of 48 teams, not participating in the 32nd round would be a disaster. We hope that we will not join the Arab teams that have been invited, such as Tunisia, Iraq and Qatar, but rather be among the qualifiers, and we are capable of that.”

The Cape Verde match is considered crucial for Saudi Arabia as they need a win to qualify for the World Cup round of 32, while a draw or defeat would mean a bye to the World Cup at the bottom of the group.

Saudi Arabia is in the fourth and last place in Group 8 with one point and one point behind Uruguay and Cape Verde, while Spain is the leader with 4 points.

It is noteworthy that the Saudi Arabian national team managed to overcome the group stage of the World Cup only once, in 1994.