An interesting number… Donis’ weapons go down in the history of the World Cup in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia fielded a historic squad for their match against Cape Verde, after Greek coach Georgios Donis decided to rely on experienced players for the greens’ most important matches at the 2026 World Cup.

According to Opta Football Statistics Network, the average age of the starting line-up of the Saudi national team against Cape Verde is 29 years and 267 days, making it the oldest starting line-up played by Al-Akhdar in the history of participation in the World Cup.

The number reflects Donis’ reliance on an element of experience in a game that cannot be split in two, as he opted to field a number of experienced players led by Mohamed Al Owais, Saud Abdul Hamid, Mohamed Kanno and Salem Al Dosari, while retaining Abdullah Al Khayberi despite the criticism he faced after the Spain clash.

Read also… Dennis responds to fans… Saudi Arabia’s official line-up against Cape Verde

The coaching staff will be hoping that the players’ accumulated experience will help them cope with the high pressure of the match, especially as the Saudi Arabian side need a win to keep their hopes of qualifying for the round of 32 alive.

While the experience factor may give the team an edge mentally, Saudi fans will be waiting for that to show after the performance on the pitch, when the Greens showed against Spain in the last round.