On the last Wednesday of June 1994, an intrepid young Saudi Arabian dared himself to take on 70 metres of highly contested space in Washington DC.
His name was Saeed Al Owairan and the 11 seconds he took to receive a pass deep in his own half, slalom past three attempted challenges from opponents and then thump a rising shot into the Belgian net would make him a global star - at least for the course of a World Cup that declared Al Owairan’s solo effort better than any of its other 140 goals.
His virtuosity that day at the RFK stadium also delivered a historic outcome, the 1-0 win over Belgium pushing Saudi Arabia into the knockout phase at a World Cup for the first and, so far, only time.
Given Saudi football’s obvious ambition to be a superpower in the sport, another step beyond a group stage seems overdue, not least while other Mena countries are conspicuously raising their standards.
At least eight nations from the region will be part of the World Cup’s return to North America, proud qualifiers for a 2026 tournament that will make the 24-team USA 94 look almost miniature by comparison.
On Friday, when group stage fixtures for the next World Cup are assigned to 48 participants, in an elon
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