Saudi Arabia opens training camp for Gulf Cup 27: Jeddah becomes the center of Gulf football from September 23
The Saudi national football team has entered the final phase of preparations for the 27th edition of the Gulf Cup, a regional tournament that will be held in Jeddah, a city on the Red Sea coast, from September 23 to October 6, 2026. According to an announcement by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, the national team players gathered at the camp in Jeddah on September 17 and held their first training session that same day under head coach Georgios Donis. With that, the tournament host began its final preparation block just a few days before the opening match against Kuwait. Saudi Arabia has been placed in Group A together with Kuwait, Oman and Iraq, while Group B consists of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen. The tournament will be played at stadiums in the King Abdullah Sports City complex and at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City, and the organizers state that this is the first edition of the Gulf Cup to be hosted by Jeddah.
First training session in Jeddah and the program until the start of the tournament
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced that the players gathered in Jeddah during September 17, after which the team took to the training pitches at King Abdullah Sports City in the evening. The first session under Donis included a warm-up, exercises in smaller groups, finishing in front of goal and a short-sided game, showing that the coaching staff immediately began working on intensity, technical details and attacking finishing. The federation announced another training session for September 18 at 7 p.m. local time, with the first 15 minutes open to media representatives. Some national team players from Al Ahli will join the camp later, on September 20, after completing their club obligations in the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, according to the federation. Because of this schedule, Donis will not have the entire squad available from the first day, but before the opening of the competition he will have several joint training sessions with the complete team.
The training camp is particularly important because of the congested schedule in the group, in which Saudi Arabia will play three matches within seven days. According to the official schedule of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, the host will open the tournament against Kuwait on Wednesday, September 23, at 9 p.m. local time at Alinma Stadium in the King Abdullah Sports City complex. The second match follows against Oman on Saturday, September 26, also at 9 p.m., while the match against Iraq is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, at 8:30 p.m. According to the currently published schedule, all three Saudi group-stage matches will be played at the same stadium, reducing the host's logistical burden and travel during the first phase of the competition. At the same time, the competition format leaves little room for a slow start to the tournament because, after three rounds, only the top two national teams from each group advance to the semifinals.
Donis selects 26 players for Gulf Cup 27
Georgios Donis announced a 26-player squad for Gulf Cup 27 on September 16, and the lineup combines experienced internationals with younger-generation footballers who already have significant roles at Saudi clubs. The goalkeepers include Mohammed Al-Owais, Nawaf Al-Aqidi and Hamed Youssef, while the defensive part of the squad includes players from Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, Al Qadisiyah and Al Ahli. The midfield includes, among others, Mohammed Kanno, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Musab Al-Juwayr and Ziyad Al-Johani. For the attacking part of the team, Donis called up Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Abdullah Al-Salem, Feras Al-Birikan and Hamam Al-Hamami. The official list confirms that for the home tournament the head coach is relying on a broad pool of players from several leading clubs in the Saudi league, rather than depending on a core from only one or two clubs.
- Goalkeepers: Mohammed Al-Owais, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Hamed Youssef.
- Defenders: Abdulelah Al-Amri, Jihad Thikri, Rayan Hamed, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Hassan Kadesh, Nawaf Boushal, Mohammed Mahzari, Moteb Al-Harbi, Zakaria Hawsawi and Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat.
- Midfielders: Musab Al-Juwayr, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Mohammed Kanno, Ziyad Al-Johani, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Alaa Al-Haji, Sultan Mandash and Saleh Abu Al-Shamat.
- Forwards: Hamam Al-Hamami, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Feras Al-Birikan and Abdullah Al-Salem.
Donis took charge of the Saudi national team in April 2026, when the Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced a contract until July 2027 and confirmed that the Greek coach had succeeded Hervé Renard following the mutually agreed end of cooperation with the French specialist. Donis knows Saudi club football well because during his career he has coached Al Hilal, Al Wehda, Al Fateh and Al Khaleej, and previously also worked at European clubs, including AEK Athens and PAOK. When appointing him, the federation highlighted his experience of working in Saudi Arabia as one of the important factors for faster adaptation to the national-team role. Gulf Cup 27 therefore brings him his first major regional tournament in front of a home crowd since taking charge of the senior national team. For the coaching staff, this means a short preparation period, but also an opportunity to further shape the team's hierarchy through at least three competitive matches.
Group A brings three different challenges
The draw held in May in Jeddah's historic district placed Saudi Arabia, as the host, at the top of Group A. According to the rules published by the Gulf Cup Football Federation before the draw, the national teams were placed into seeding pots based on the FIFA ranking of April 1, 2026, while the host was pre-assigned to Group A and designated to play in the tournament's opening match. Saudi Arabia drew Iraq, Oman and Kuwait, giving the group a combination of historically successful national teams and sides with different playing styles. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen play in the other group, so the potential semifinal pairings will not be known until the group stage has been completed. The official format provides for the first-placed team from one group to face the second-placed team from the other group in the semifinals, while the winners of those matches meet in the final.
The opener against Kuwait carries additional significance because the host immediately enters a match in which expectations from the stands will be high, but Gulf Cup history is a reminder of just how closely the Kuwaiti national team is associated with this competition. Kuwait is the record winner of the tournament, while Saudi Arabia has three titles. Oman comes next, an opponent that stopped the Saudis in the semifinals of the previous edition, while the final round brings Iraq, a four-time Gulf Cup winner following the title it won in 2023. Such a schedule means Saudi Arabia has no clearly easy match in the group and that the standings could depend on details such as goal difference, head-to-head matches and finishing efficiency. That is precisely why the preparation sessions in Jeddah have practical value: the coaching staff must quickly coordinate players arriving from different clubs and competitive rhythms.
Jeddah hosts the Gulf Cup for the first time
The Gulf Cup Football Federation confirmed that the 27th edition will be held in Jeddah from September 23 to October 6 and that matches will be played at King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City. Ahead of the draw, the organizers emphasized that this is the first time Jeddah has hosted the competition, although Saudi Arabia has previously organized the Gulf Cup in other cities. The main stadium at King Abdullah Sports City is listed as Alinma Stadium in the official schedule of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, and Saudi Arabia will play all three of its group-stage matches there. The second tournament venue, Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City, will also be part of the schedule of 15 matches that make up the competition involving eight national teams, two groups, semifinals and a final. For Jeddah, the tournament is another major football event during a period in which the city regularly uses its sports infrastructure for international and domestic competitions.
The draw itself was held on May 19 at Culture Square in Jeddah's historic district, in a venue associated with the Art Center of the Red Sea International Film Festival. The final composition of the groups was confirmed there, and the organizers also publicly presented the basic competition framework. Hosting the tournament in a single city simplifies movement for national teams, media and supporters and makes it possible to concentrate events at two main locations. Another advantage for the Saudi national team is that it will spend the entire group stage in familiar surroundings without changing city or stadium. Nevertheless, home ground in itself provides no guarantee of results, as also demonstrated by the more recent history of the Gulf Cup, in which hosts have often been under intense pressure from expectations.
Saudi Arabia seeks a fourth title after more than two decades
According to historical data from the Gulf Cup Football Federation, Saudi Arabia has won the tournament three times. The first title came in 1994 in the United Arab Emirates, the second in 2002 on home soil, and the third in the following edition held in Kuwait in 2003/04. Since then, the national team has come close to the final stages several times but has not lifted the trophy again. In that context, the home Gulf Cup 27 carries additional sporting significance, especially because it is being played in front of a Saudi crowd and in a city taking on the role of host of the entire tournament for the first time. Historical performance, however, will have no direct importance on the pitch, where Saudi Arabia must first get through a group containing three opponents with significant experience in this competition.
The previous edition provides a fresh reminder of the tournament's unpredictability. At Gulf Cup 26 in Kuwait at the end of 2024, Saudi Arabia lost its first match to Bahrain 3-2, then defeated Yemen 3-2 and Iraq 3-1 to reach the semifinals. In the battle for a place in the final, Oman won 2-1, stopping the Saudi team one step short of the title match. Bahrain then defeated Oman 2-1 in the final and won the second Gulf Cup in its history, meaning it arrives in Jeddah as the defending champion. The results from that edition also show how much the balance of power can change within just a few days, which is why consistency throughout the entire group stage is one of the key conditions for finishing among the top four teams.
Five days until the first match
As of September 18, 2026, Saudi Arabia is five days away from its first match against Kuwait. Until then, Donis's staff will try to complete the team's coordination, integrate the players who are joining the camp later and determine the starting lineup for the opening of the tournament. The schedule allows little time for subsequent corrections: Oman follows three days after Kuwait, followed by Iraq another three days later. In such a short format, every point won carries great weight, and one poor result can immediately change the calculations in the fight for the top two places. The host therefore begins its preparations in Jeddah with a clear competitive framework, but without room for relaxation in a group in which all three opponents have a long tradition of Gulf Cup appearances.
For the organizers, the opening on September 23 will also mark the beginning of the first Gulf Cup in Jeddah, while for the Saudi national team it will mark the beginning of an attempt to win a regional trophy again after a long period. The first phase of that attempt is already taking place in camp, where Donis must combine the experience of key players such as Al-Owais and Kanno with the energy of younger players who have received more playing time at club and international level in recent seasons. Official federation announcements so far confirm an orderly start to preparations and the planned arrival of the remaining national team players from Al Ahli. The final picture of the team's form will become clearer only after the first competitive minutes against Kuwait. Until then, the host's focus will remain on training, physical freshness and tactical preparation for three different opponents within a very short period.
Sources:
- Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) - announcement on the start of the national team camp and first training session in Jeddah on September 17, 2026. (link)
- Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) - official list of 26 players and schedule for national team players joining the camp (link)
- Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) - official schedule of Saudi Arabia's matches at Gulf Cup 27 (link)
- Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) - announcement on the appointment of Georgios Donis as head coach until July 2027 (link)
- Gulf Cup Football Federation - group composition, tournament venues and confirmation that Jeddah is hosting the Gulf Cup for the first time (link)
- Gulf Cup Football Federation - rules and seeding pots used for the Gulf Cup 27 draw (link)
- Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) - Saudi Arabia's results at Gulf Cup 26, including the semifinal against Oman (link)
- Asian Football Confederation (AFC) - confirmation of Bahrain's Gulf Cup 26 title following its final victory over Oman (link)