Saudi Arabia Gulf 27 Squad: Georgios Donis Excludes Salem Al-Dawsari
The Gulf Cup is usually a stage for continuity, for fine‑tuning a settled core. Georgios Donis has chosen something very different.
The Greek coach has announced Saudi Arabia’s squad for Gulf 27, hosted in Jeddah from 23 September to 6 October, and dropped a bombshell in the process: there is no place for national team captain Salem Al-Dawsari. Nor for Roma defender Saud Abdulhamid. Both were on the plane to the recent World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Both now watch this tournament from home.
Big names out, message sent
Al-Dawsari’s omission jumps off the page. The winger has been the face of the Green Falcons for years, a leader and a reference point in major tournaments. Abdulhamid, now at Roma, added European pedigree and World Cup experience. Donis has left them both out.
They are not isolated cases. Ahmed Al-Kassar, Ali Majrashi, Ali Lajami, Ayman Yahya, Saleh Al-Shehri and Khalid Al-Ghannam have also been cut, taking to eight the number of World Cup players missing from this Gulf 27 squad.
This is not a tweak. It is a reset.
Eight new faces step in
Into that vacuum step eight newcomers, all handed a chance to change their careers in a fortnight of football on home soil.
Hamed Al-Shanqiti, Mohammed Mahzari, Zakaria Hawsawi, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, Abdullah Al-Salem, Rayan Hamed and Hammam Al-Hammami have all been called up, a wave of fresh energy injected into a group that had just come off the biggest stage in the game.
Some arrive to compete. Others arrive to learn. All arrive with an opening that did not exist a few months ago.
The 26-man squad
According to the Saudi national team’s account on X, Donis has settled on a 26-man list for the tournament in Jeddah:
- Goalkeepers: Mohammed Al-Owais, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Hamed Al-Shanqiti
- Defenders: Abdulelah Al-Amri, Jihad Zikri, Rayan Hamed, Hassan Kadesh, Hassan Tambakti, Nawaf Boushal, Mohammed Mahzari, Mutaib Al-Harbi, Zakaria Hawsawi
- Midfielders: Musab Al-Juwayr, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Mohammed Kanno, Ziyad Al-Johani, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Alaa Haji, Sultan Mandash, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, Hammam Al-Hammami, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat
- Forwards: Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Firas Al-Buraikan, Abdullah Al-Salem
It is a blend of familiar names and ambitious hopefuls, anchored by figures like Mohammed Kanno, Abdulelah Al-Amri and Firas Al-Buraikan, but clearly shaped by Donis’s appetite for renewal.
Host nation, heavy expectations
Saudi Arabia do not travel for this Gulf Cup. They host it, in Jeddah, with all the pressure that brings.
They open their campaign against Kuwait on 23 September at Al-Inma Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City. Oman follow on 26 September, before the Green Falcons close out their Group One schedule against Iraq on the 29th.
The draw has offered no soft landing. Group One contains Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Iraq. Group Two gathers Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Yemen. There are no hiding places in either half of the bracket.
For Donis, that is the point. He has chosen to test new players in a demanding environment, in front of a home crowd that expects to see its team not only compete, but contend.
The names on the team sheet have changed. The standard they will be judged by has not.
