Who are the Saudi players who beat Argentina and could they be led by Marcelo Gallardo?

The news that Marcelo Gallardo will return to the helm has caused a stir and expectations are growing to see Muñe again at the helm of a team. River’s former deté will command a squad of the Al Hilal SFC with Al Nassr for Riyadh season to be played on 19 January. Although the highlight is that he will direct Cristiano Ronaldo against Messi, he will also give instructions to more than one player who participated in Saudi Arabia’s victory over Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar.

That Tuesday, November 22, millions of Argentines soon opened their eyes to light up in front of the television at 7 in the morning with the desire to see the debut of the national team at the World Cup. Although Leo converted his first Qatar goal from a penalty after 10 minutes, the joy faded after Saudi Arabia’s two goals and that start to the tournament sparked concern. The story is already known and despite starting with a defeat, the staggered lifted the trophy by beating France in an unforgettable final.

Now several members of that team are back on the scene and they have something of a relationship with Argentina as Marcelo Gallardo will manage them and Messi will face them again. Saleh Al-Shehri scored the first goal and Salem Muhamed Al-Dawsari the second. Both are members of Al-Hilal, with which Muñe could pick them for the January 19 match.

Of France’s Herve Renard’s 26-man squad, only eight players are not competing for Al Hilal SFC or Al Nassr. Of course, there is another connection with Argentina since the coach of Al Hilal is Ramón Díaz and will play the Club World Cup which will be played in Morocco next February.

In the team led by Pelado There are 12 football players in the Saudi Arabian national team who beat Argentina on their debut in Qatar: Mohammed Al Owais, Saud Abdulhami, Ali Albulayh, Ali Albulayh, Abdulelah Almalki, Salman Al Faraj, Mohammed Kanno, Salem Al Dawsari and Saleh Al-Shehri. Of the 11 starters of that crossing, 9 are part of the team of the former River coach.

Meanwhile, the 6 from Al Nassr who make up Renard’s list are: Al Aqidi, Madu, Al Ghannam, Al Hassan, Al Amri and Al Najei. Among all these players, plus others already known to Muñe such as Pity Martínez or Cristiano Ronaldo himself, Muñeco will be able to count and it will be necessary to see how he decides to put together the squad that will face Messi, Mbappé, Neymar and company…

The match

The meeting will take place on January 19 as part of the Riyadh Season, an Arab state-sponsored event that has been held since 2019, usually from October to March, and which aims to promote entertainment and sports in the region. In this context, as happened in 2022, the mix of Saudi Arabia’s two most powerful clubs will be led by a visiting coach.

Last year it was Arsene Wenger; in this edition, Gallardo himself, who will thus be the protagonist of an event that will have greater relevance due to the recent signing of CR7 to the leader of the Arab championship and his cross against Messi, with whom the Portuguese maintains a cordial relationship even when they were rivals football for more than a decade.