Five Saudi players get second shot at AFC U-23 Asian Cup glory

Five Saudi players will be participating in their second consecutive AFC U-23 Asian Cup final when the team from the Kingdom take on Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Sunday evening.

Hassan Timbukti, Saud Abdulhamid, Hussain Al-Eisa, Ayman Yahya and Firas Al-Buraikan had taken part in the 2020 final, when Saudi Arabia went down 1-0 to South Korea after extra time in Thailand.

From the quintet, Abdulhamid, Timbukti and Al-Eisa started that final, while Yahya and Al-Buraikan were on the bench.

This time around, Yahya — the Saudi team’s top scorer at the tournament with three goals — has been the most used player by coach Saad Al-Shehri, appearing in all five matches: against Tajikistan, Japan and the UAE in the group stage, and Vietnam and Australia in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Abdulhamid has participated in four matches, missing the Vietnam clash due to suspension. Meanwhile, Al-Eisa started twice against the UAE and Vietnam and came on as a substitute against Australia.

Timbukti and Al-Buraikan, having returned from a training camp in Spain with the senior Saudi national team, played both matches against Vietnam and Australia.

This will be the Saudi team’s third final competition, and while they have maintained their record of winning every semifinal they have taken part in, the Young Falcons have yet to win the trophy.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia defeated Jordan 3-1 in the semifinals of what was then still called the AFC U-22 Championship — delayed from 2013 — with goals by Abdullah Al-Ammar, Mohammed Majrashi and Abdulfattah Asiri, before losing 1-0 to Iraq in the final.