World Cup 2022… Qatar will not play the opening match

The former Saudi football star, Nawaf Al-Tmyat, considers the opening match of the “green” once morest Argentina in the Qatar World Cup 2022 with great importance, as the “key” to deal with the rest of the matches.

Friday’s draw in Doha, Saudi Arabia, made a strong group with Argentina, Lionel Messi, Poland, Robert Lewandowski, in addition to Mexico.

“If we can present ourselves well once morest Argentina, then we will be able to deal with the group as a whole,” Mimyat says in an interview with AFP.

Saudi Arabia is participating for the sixth time in its history following 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, the best first in the United States 1994, when it overtook Belgium in the group stage with a historic goal by Saeed Al-Owairan, before being deposited in the playoffs once morest Sweden 1-3.

Tough group

Al-Tmyatt, the best player in Asia in 2000, prefers that his country not be part of two European teams, but he stresses in return that “the group is difficult for us and the preparation for it must be distinguished.”

“In the World Cup, there is no easy group, and all matches are difficult,” adds the 45-year-old.

Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 victory over Egypt in Russia 2018 ended a streak of 12 matches without any victory in the global event.

Al-Tmyatt believes that “Arab, Asian and some African teams discover playing at a high pace in the World Cup matches, as they have a high margin of error, which may cause great results.”

But the former Al Hilal player considers that the coach’s role appears in adjusting the margins of error through a high-level preparatory aspect, describing French Herve Renard as “a distinguished coach who is able to prepare the team well from now until the World Cup.”

special generation

On comparing this generation with the previous generations of Saudi football, the former playmaker confirms that “this team has distinguished talents, and this group entered history from its widest doors, as it presented the best qualifiers ever and collected the largest number of points.”

Al-Tmyatt, who participated in three previous World Cups (1998, 2002, 2006), adds, “Our confidence in them is very high, especially since they met with a wonderful coach, who manages the dressing room well, and with great support from the sports leadership.”

With regard to the expected preparatory program for the next stage, he sees the need to work on determining the upcoming friendly matches from today, especially following the coach got to know the football schools he will face in the World Cup.

He points out, in this context, that the national team currently includes a group that has good technical maturity, with ten players who previously participated in the last edition of the World Cup, and this is a good thing.

After its opening match once morest Argentina on November 22 at Lusail Stadium, Saudi Arabia, the three-time Asian champion, will play Poland on the 26th at Education City Stadium, and then Mexico on the 30th at Lusail Stadium.

And whether the time has come for the Saudi player to go professional in Europe, Al-Timyat expresses great happiness regarding what he described as the “state-supported foreign scholarship project.”

The owner of 64 international matches reveals that, “Today, Saudi Arabia has 17 under-16 players who play in Europe, and in clubs such as Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb and Greece’s Olympiacos, in addition to some second-tier clubs in Spain.”

He adds, “This is what we need. Saudi football is born, and there are many talents, and the more the player interacts at a high level, the more he manages to present himself in a different way.”

A professional player, from the point of view of mitigation, can handle big matches and world events. And if this project is to be completed in light of the high salaries received by the Gulf player in general and the Saudi player in particular, Al-Timyat says, “Regardless of this issue (…), we also note the Europeans’ view of the player coming from different continents, which may also be wrong. There is a clear truth” to know the reasons for the failure of the Gulf player in professionalism.

And he concludes by saying, “I see that the presence of players in the profession from the age of 17 to 19 contributes to the process of professional gradation.”

Al-Tmyatt, who was appointed Vice-President of the Saudi Federation since December 8, 2017, took over the presidency of the Federation on August 18, 2018, following the resignation of former president Adel Ezzat at the time, before he left in October 2018, and is preparing for the external scholarship project, which “will be the building block for the Saudi sports person.” As he says .