Saudi Arabia 1998 Retro Football Shirt

Football in Saudi Arabia was on the crest of a wave as the qualification campaign for the 1998 World Cup got underway. An outstanding campaign at the 1994 tournament in the USA had been followed up with success at the 1996 Asian Cup, so Saudi participation in France was virtually taken for granted.

Malaysia, Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei proved little competition in the first qualifying round and this group was won comfortably. The deciding qualifying round proved more challenging, but again Saudi Arabia finished top of their group to qualify for the Finals along with Iran.

There was to be no repeat of the heroics of 1994 however. Under coach Carlos Alberto Parreira the Saudis exited the group stages after collecting just a single point from a 2-2 draw with South Africa. It was a mixed time for the heroes of the previous tournament: Sami Al-Jaber scored against South Africa to become the first Asian player to score at two World Cups, whereas Saeed Al-Owairan was mostly on the fringes of the team after falling out of favour following a lengthy suspension the previous year.