Georgios Donis Announces Saudi Arabia's Gulf Cup Squad

Georgios Donis has wasted no time making big calls.

The Greece-born head coach of Saudi Arabia has announced his 26-man squad for Gulf Cup “Gulf 27”, and the headline is brutal: captain Salem Al-Dawsari is out. So is Roma defender Saud Abdulhamid. Both were central figures for the Green Falcons at the recent World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Both now find themselves watching from home as the region gathers in Jeddah from 23 September to 6 October.

This is not a gentle evolution. It looks like a hard reset.

Big names cut, new era signalled

Al-Dawsari and Abdulhamid are not the only casualties. Donis has stripped out eight players from his World Cup group for this tournament. Ahmed Al-Kassar, Ali Majrashi, Ali Lajami, Ayman Yahya, Saleh Al-Shehri and Khalid Al-Ghannam have all missed the cut as the coach reshapes his options for Gulf 27.

In their place, eight new faces step into the spotlight: Hamed Al-Shanqiti, Mohammed Mahzari, Zakaria Hawsawi, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, Abdullah Al-Salem, Rayan Hamed and Hammam Al-Hammami. For them, Jeddah is not just a host city. It is an audition.

The Saudi national team account on X confirmed the final list, a group that blends established names with players still trying to write their first chapter in green.

The 26-man squad

• 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

Plenty of familiar pillars remain. Mohammed Al-Owais brings tournament experience in goal. At the back, Hassan Tambakti and Abdulelah Al-Amri anchor a defence that has seen big-game pressure. In attack, Firas Al-Buraikan carries the responsibility of leading the line.

But the spine now runs through fresher legs. Donis has clearly decided that Gulf 27 is the right stage to test the depth of Saudi football.

Group of jeopardy in Jeddah

Saudi Arabia will not have long to ease this new-look side into action. They open their campaign against Kuwait on 23 September at Al-Inma Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City. A regional rival, in front of home fans, in the first game of a new cycle. The margin for error is thin.

Oman await on 26 September, a side that rarely gives anything away easily in tournament football. Iraq then close out the group-stage schedule on the 29th, a fixture that so often carries an edge and a story of its own in Gulf competition.

The draw has placed Saudi Arabia in Group One alongside Kuwait, Oman and Iraq. Group Two brings together Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Yemen, setting up a tournament that feels wide open and heavy with subplots.

Donis has made his statement with the squad list. The question now is whether this bold reshaping can deliver a Gulf title on home soil, or whether the absence of a talismanic captain like Salem Al-Dawsari will echo through Jeddah when the pressure peaks.