Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s International Friendlies clash between Saudi Arabia and Algeria, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Saudi Arabia and Algeria will conclude their schedule for the November international break with a friendly match at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium on Tuesday evening.
With World Cup qualification already secured for both teams, December’s Arab Cup is the immediate focus, after which the visitors will head to Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Match preview
Needing just a draw from their final World Cup qualifier, Saudi Arabia played out a goalless stalemate against Iraq in October, which confirmed their place in the upcoming edition of football’s biggest competition.
Consequently, Herve Renard‘s men have now qualified for three consecutive global tournaments for the first time since 2006, continuing their recent upward trajectory under the guidance of the French manager.
Thanks to Waheb Saleh‘s eight-minute strike, Saudi Arabia claimed a narrow 1-0 triumph over the Ivory Coast in their most recent involvement to make it five matches without a defeat dating back to June’s CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final defeat against Mexico.
The Green Falcons will now set out to continue their perfect record against Algeria, having claimed a 2-0 victory in the sides’ only previous encounter seven years ago.
Tuesday’s hosts have not lost a friendly encounter in front of their fans since March 2023, but will need to be wary of their tendency to be caught out early on in matches after conceding the opening goal in six of their most recent eight outings.
Algeria finished seven points clear of Uganda at the top of Group G to steamroll their way to a first World Cup appearance since 2014.
This would have probably seemed improbable for Vladimir Petkovic‘s men after kicking off proceedings with a shock home 2-1 defeat in their first qualifying match and competitive outing under the 62-year-old last June.
However, Algeria recovered superbly, winning eight of the subsequent nine games and picking up 25 points from a possible 30. The Fennec Foxes are one of only five African teams to reach the 25-point mark during the qualifiers alongside Egypt, Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Ghana.
Like their upcoming opponents, Algeria are also unbeaten in their last five matches, four of which have ended in victory, following a 3-1 triumph over Zimbabwe on Thursday.
Tuesday’s trip to Jeddah will see Algeria take to the field for a warm-up outing for the first time since June, when they found themselves down by four 10 minutes into the second half against Sweden, and the visitors will be keen to put on a better display this time around.
Saudi Arabia International Friendlies form:
Saudi Arabia form (all competitions):
Algeria International Friendlies form:
Algeria form (all competitions):
Team News
Al-Hilal defender Hassan Al Tambakti – who featured in every game in 2025 up until the current international break – sustained a foot injury during training and is unavailable for Saudi Arabia once again.
Following his winner in the victory over Cote d’Ivoire, Waheb Saleh has now been directly involved in three goals in his opening four matches for the home side, making him one to keep an eye on.
Wolfsburg forward Mohamed El Amine Amoura netted his 19th goal for Algeria against Zimbabwe, moving him up to ninth in his nation’s all-time top scorers list, albeit level with Tedj Bensaoula and Sofiane Feghouli.
Aissa Mandi and Riyad Mahrez were both unused substitutes last time out but should feature in some capacity on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia possible starting lineup:
Al-Aqidi; Abdulhamid, Al-Amri, Al-Ahmed, Boushal; Kanno, Al-Khaibari, Al-Dawsari; Mandash, Al-Buraikan, Saleh
Algeria possible starting lineup:
Benbot; Hadjam, Chergui, Mandi, Belghali; Zerrouki, Maza, Titraoui; Hadj Moussa, Mahrez, Amoura
We say: Saudi Arabia 2-1 Algeria
Both teams will arrive for Tuesday’s clash in high spirits, and either could easily emerge victorious.
That said, we can see Saudi Arabia doing enough to get the job done in front of their fans when all is said and done.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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