Saudi Arabia set to cancel December camp after Asian Cup postponement

Saudi Arabia are set to cancel the second phase of their training camp after the 2027 AFC Asian Cup was postponed by one year.

The camp had been scheduled to take place in Al Khobar from 21 December to 3 January. According to Saudi newspaper Al Riyadiyah, formal confirmation of the cancellation would also mean the withdrawal of two planned friendly matches against Qatar and Jordan.

A revised programme for the Saudi national team is expected to be announced in the coming period.

Saudi Arabia will first hold an overseas camp in Doha, Qatar, from 8 November to 17 November. The squad are due to play South Korea on 13 November and Uzbekistan on 17 November in preparation matches during that camp.

Head coach Georgios Donis announced a 30-man squad for the November programme on Wednesday.

The squad consists of Mohammed Al-Owais, Hamed Youssef, Abdulqaddus Attiyah, Abdulilah Al-Amri, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Ali Lajami, Sultan Tankar, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Nawaf Boushal, Mohammed Mahzari, Saud Abdulhamid, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, Moteb Al-Harbi, Fares Abdi, Musab Al-Juwayr, Mukhtar Ali, Mohammed Kanno, Ziyad Al-Jehani, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Abdulmalek Al-Ayiri, Sultan Mendash, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Marwan Al-Sahafi, Mohammed Al-Kuwaikibi, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Turki Al-Ammar, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Firas Al-Buraikan and Abdullah Al-Salem.

The organising committee for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup announced that the tournament would be delayed by 12 months.

The competition had originally been due to begin in Saudi Arabia in January next year. Following coordination with the Asian Football Confederation, the committee confirmed that it would instead be held from 23 December 2027 to 21 January 2028.

That change has prompted the planned second stage of Saudi Arabia’s preparations to be reviewed, with the Al Khobar camp and the fixtures against Qatar and Jordan now expected to be cancelled.