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Saudi Arabia is one of the most successful teams in Asia, having won threeAFC Asian Cup titles and is one of the stronger teams in the continent. With influential experiences, the Saudi team has been a major force in the Asian Cup.
The Saudis first qualified to the Asian Cup was in 1984, and it was also the first time Saudi Arabia claimed the title. They repeated the feat in 1988 and 1996, before reaching two other finals, both ended in defeats. Having said, Saudi Arabia also has disappointing performances, notably 2004, 2011 and 2015, when Saudi Arabia crashed out from the group stage. Saudi Arabia will play in 2023 edition, looking on their quest to win the Asian Cup in the new millennia. Saudi Arabia will host the 2027 edition which will mark the first time that the country has ever hosted the Asian Cup.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Saudi Arabia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 |  Kuwait | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | |
| 3 |  Qatar | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 |  Syria | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |
| 5 |  South Korea | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
Abdullah 90' | Lee Tae-Ho 51' |
Syria  | 0–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Khalifa 66' |
| Qatar | 1–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Zaid 47' | Abduljawad 65' |
| Kuwait | 0–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Jam'an 88' |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |  Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Shahin Bayani 88' (o.g.) | Shahrokh Bayani 43' | |
| Penalties | ||
Abdullah Abduljawad Nu'eimeh Al-Jam'an Al-Musaibeah | 5–4 | HajilooMokhtarifarDerakhshan PanjaliShahrokh Bayani |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–0 |  China |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Nafisah 10' Abdullah 46' |
|  | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | China | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 | |
| 3 | Syria | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Kuwait | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | |
| 5 |  Bahrain | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| Syria | 0–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Al-Mutlaq 20' Al-Suwaiyed 82' |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–0 | Kuwait |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Jazea'a 78' | Report | F. Mohamed 44' (pen.) |
| China | 0–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Al-Bishi 56' |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Abdullah 16' | Report |
| South Korea | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Cho Min-Kook Lee Tae-Ho Byun Byung-Joo Kim Joo-Sung Cho Yoon-Hwan | 3–4 | Nu'eimehAbd Al-JawadAbdullahAl-MutlaqAl-Bishi |
| | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 4 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | China | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Qatar | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 |  Thailand | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | China |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Thunayan 17' | Report | Li Bing 41' |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Muwallid 86' | Report | Mustafa 74' |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Owairan 4' Al-Bishi 19',72'Al-Thunayan 64' | Report |
Japan  | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Takagi 36' | Report |
| | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Iraq | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | |
| 4 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 6–0 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Temawi 10' (pen.),29' (pen.) Al-Mehallel 15',54'Al-Muwallid 18'Al-Jaber 52' | Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Mehallel 26' | Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–3 | China |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Thunayan 31',65' Al-Jaber 34'Al-Mehallel 43' | Report | Zhang Enhua 6',89' Peng Weiguo 16' |
| Iran | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Daei Peyrovani Yazdani Estili Bagheri Khakpour | 3–4 | Al-TemawiSulaimaniZubromawiAl-MuwallidAl-HarbiMadani |
United Arab Emirates  | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| M. Ali Saleh K. Saad Saeed | 2–4 | Al-ThunayanZubromawiAl-HarbiAl-TemawiAl-Muwallid |
| | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Japan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 7 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | |
| 3 | Qatar | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Uzbekistan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–4 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Morioka 90' (o.g.) | Report | Yanagisawa 22' Takahara 37'Nanami 53'Ono 88' |
| Saudi Arabia | 5–0 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Otaibi 18' Al-Shalhoub 35',78',86'Al-Temyat 88' | Report |
| Kuwait | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Bashar Abdullah 62' Al-Huwaidi 68' | Report | Al-Temyat 45+1' 109'Al-Meshal 72' |
South Korea  | 1–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Dong-Gook 90+1' | Report | Al-Meshal 76',80' |
| Japan | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Mochizuki 30' | Report |
| | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 9 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Iraq | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Turkmenistan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–2 | Turkmenistan |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Qahtani 9' (pen.),59' | Report | N. Bayramov 6' Kuliyev 90+3' |
| Uzbekistan | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Geynrikh 13' | Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–2 |  Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Montashari 57' | Report | Akram 51' Mahmoud 86' |
| | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 |  Indonesia(H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Mousa 18' A. Al-Qahtani 45'Al-Jassim 68',79' | Report |
| Japan | 2–3 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Nakazawa 37' Abe 53' | Report | Y. Al-Qahtani 35' Mouath 47',57' |
| | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 |  Jordan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | |
| 3 | Syria | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 |
| 9 January 2011 | ||
| Saudi Arabia | 1–2 | Syria |
| 13 January 2011 | ||
| Jordan | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
| 17 January 2011 | ||
| Saudi Arabia | 0–5 | Japan |
| | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 |  North Korea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
| 10 January 2015 | |||
| Saudi Arabia | 0–1[1] | China | Brisbane Stadium,Brisbane |
| 14 January 2015 | |||
| North Korea | 1–4[2] | Saudi Arabia | AAMI Park,Melbourne |
| 18 January 2015 | |||
| Uzbekistan | 3–1 | Saudi Arabia | AAMI Park,Melbourne |
| | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 9 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Lebanon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | North Korea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 4–0 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–2 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| | |
| | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Thailand | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 5 | |
| 3 |  Oman | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 |  Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–1 | Oman |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |  South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 2–4 | ||
| AFC Asian Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
 1956 | Not an AFC member | Not an AFC member | ||||||||||||||
 1960 | ||||||||||||||||
 1964 | ||||||||||||||||
 1968 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1972 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1976 | Withdrew | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 5 | |||||||||
| 1980 | Withdrew | |||||||||||||||
 1984 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| 1988 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | Automatic qualification as champions | |||||||
| 1992 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | Automatic qualification as champions | |||||||
| 1996 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2000 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | Automatic qualification as champions | |||||||
| 2004 | Group stage | 13th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
  2007 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 4 | ||
| 2011 | Group stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | Automatic qualification as runners-up | |||||||
 2015 | 10th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | |||
| 2019 | Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 4 | ||
| 2023 | 10th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 4 | |||
| 2027 | Qualified as hosts | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | |||||||||
| Total | 3 Titles | 12/19 | 52 | 23 | 15 | 14 | 74 | 50 | 54 | 43 | 7 | 4 | 164 | 24 | ||
| AFC Asian Cup matches (by team) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| Bahrain | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
| China | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 |
| Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Iran | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
 Iraq | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Japan | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 14 | -10 |
| Jordan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Kuwait | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Lebanon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| North Korea | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 |
| Oman | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Qatar | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| South Korea | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| Syria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Thailand | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 |
| Turkmenistan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| United Arab Emirates | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Uzbekistan | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 |