Abdulrahman bin Musaad: The Saudi national team has become a fiefdom of Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr… and I fear a scandal at the World Cup

الأمير عبدالله بن مساعد

Former Al-Hilal president discusses the national team’s prospects at the World Cup

Prince Abdulrahman bin Musaad, former president of Al-Hilal Club, has launched a scathing attack on the Saudi national team, its French manager Hervé Renard, and the Football Federation, in light of the poor performances of late.

The Saudi national team lost its last two friendly matches in March, going down 4-0 to Egypt and 2-1 to Serbia, less than three months ahead of the 2026 World Cup finals.

Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr Party

Prince Abdulrahman bin Musaad said in comments to Al-Arabiya FM: “The Saudi national team has become a battleground between Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr; no one can see it in its green colours, but sees it as either yellow or blue.”

He added: “Some believe that all the national team’s disasters are down to Salem Al-Dossari and Mohammed Kanoo, whilst others believe the reason lies with Nawaf Al-Aqidi and Ayman Yahya.”

He continued: “The Saudi Arabian Football Federation must protect Salem Al-Dossari, Nawaf Al-Aqidi and others from criticism. I am not against criticism, but no player can be accused of shirking his national team duties, as happened with Al-Dossari.”

Al-Dosari's penalties

He continued: "Personally, as a Al-Hilal fan, I urge Salem Al-Dossari not to take penalties for either the club or the national team, because he’s terrible at them."

He added: “Most Al-Hilal fans don’t want Salem Al-Dossari to take penalties for Al-Hilal, but they do for the Saudi national team; and if he misses, they say that Maradona did the same before, but they don’t defend Al-Aqidi in the same way.”

رئيس الهلال السابق الأمير عبدالرحمن بن مساعد@abdulrahman : أنا قلت لسالم الدوسري لا تسدد ركلات جزاء سواء مع الهلال أو المنتخب#العربيةFM pic.twitter.com/1xCL2aDZv8

The national team's World Cup scandal

The former Al-Hilal president also insisted that the Saudi national team will not achieve anything at the 2026 World Cup, whether under French coach Hervé Renard or anyone else.

He explained: “I believe that no coach of the national team will achieve anything at the World Cup, whether it is Renard or someone else, as the period leading up to the World Cup is short, and nothing will change during it.”

He continued: “My aim for the World Cup is that we don’t end up making a complete mess of it; I don’t want us to lose 7-0 to Spain, 5-0 to Uruguay, and 3-0 to Cape Verde.”

Argentina's dream

He continued: "The current situation cannot be compared to the match against Argentina at the 2022 World Cup; the national team went into that tournament with plenty of breathing room, and the Saudi league did not have eight foreign players."

He concluded: “We must look ahead to the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia and try to minimise losses at the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup.”

It is worth noting that the Saudi national team is in Group H of the World Cup, alongside Spain, Uruguay and Cape Verde.

رئيس الهلال السابق الأمير عبدالرحمن بن مساعد @abdulrahman: المنتخب السعودي لن يقدم الكثير في كأس العالم سواءً مع رينارد أو مدرب آخر#العربيةFM pic.twitter.com/tczMtLYEh7