Salem Al-Dawsari and Saud Abdulhamid left out of Saudi Arabia squad for Gulf Cup 27

Saudi Arabia manager Georgios Donis has named an experienced 26-player squad for Gulf Cup 27, with captain Salem Al-Dawsari and Roma defender Saud Abdulhamid among the notable absentees.

The tournament will be held in Jeddah from 23 September to 6 October, with Saudi Arabia drawn in Group A alongside Kuwait, Oman and Iraq.

Al-Dawsari and Abdulhamid both represented Saudi Arabia at the latest World Cup, held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, but neither has been selected for the home tournament.

Donis has also omitted goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar, Ali Majrashi, Ali Lajami, Ayman Yahya, Saleh Al-Shehri and Khalid Al-Ghannam. That means eight players who were included in the World Cup squad will not feature at Gulf Cup 27.

The Greek coach has brought in eight new players as replacements: Hamed Al-Shanqiti, Mohammed Mahzari, Zakaria Al-Hawsawi, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, Abdullah Al-Salem, Rayan Hamed and Homam Al-Hamami.

The final Saudi Arabia squad is:

Mohammed Al-Owais, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Hamed Al-Shanqiti, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Jihad Dhakri, Rayan Hamed, Hassan Kadesh, Hassan Tambakti, Nawaf Boushal, Mohammed Mahzari, Moteb Al-Harbi, Zakaria Al-Hawsawi, Musab Al-Juwair, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Mohammed Kanno, Ziyad Al-Jahni, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Alaa Haji, Sultan Mandash, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, Homam Al-Hamami, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Feras Al-Brikan and Abdullah Al-Salem.

Saudi Arabia will begin their campaign against Kuwait on 23 September at Alinma Stadium, within King Abdullah Sports City.

They will then face Oman on 26 September before completing their Group A fixtures against Iraq on 29 September.

The draw placed Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Iraq together in Group A, while Group B consists of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen.

Donis’ selection leaves out several established internationals while offering opportunities to a group of less experienced players as Saudi Arabia prepare to host the Gulf tournament.