It has been more than a decade since the Green Falcons last spread their wings on the global stage.

This situation would have seemed unfathomable between 1994-2006, when World Cups were made as a matter of course thanks to the legendary endeavours of forward Sami Al Jaber, goalkeeper Mohamed Al Deayea and Co. But malfunction was then to ravage the Middle East’s football powerhouse.

That is before 2015’s revelatory appointment of Bert van Marwijk.

The man who led his native Netherlands to defeat in the final of the 2010 event engineered a stunning Road to Russia. Their swashbuckling path was secured in fitting fashion when electric Al Ittihad winger Fahad Al Muwallad rocketed in a stunning winner against Japan to nudge Australia out of the automatic berths.

Then the discord and institutional breakdowns reappeared.

A new contract for the visionary Van Marwijk was ripped up in September. Immediate replacement Edgardo Bauza was poached from the UAE in the aftermath of their failure to gain entrance – and then swiftly dismissed on November 22 after five unsatisfactory matches.

Ex-Chile head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi is now the man at the helm. His challenge to navigate a generous Group A is a complex one.

A brainwave to send the nation’s brightest talents on loan to Spain in January then saw key attackers Al Muwallad, Yahya Al Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari barely make any matchday squads. Elsewhere, attempts have been made to identify support for prolific, but recently misfiring, Al Nassr striker Mohammad Al Sahlawi.

Supreme Al Hilal midfielder Nawaf Al Abed misses the tournament after being unable to fully recover from groin surgery, while club-mate Salman Al Faraj has only recently recovered from long-term injury. All the players above, plus the likes of Al Ahli Jeddah veteran Taisir Al Jassim and exciting Hilal full-back Yasser Al Shahrani, possess talent to grace a global stage.

But the recent managerial merry-go-round and La Liga experiment have only served to make their job in Russia more difficult, following the enviable collective identity forged by Van Marwijk.

Dreams of matching 1994’s run to the round of 16 appear distant.

KEY PLAYER

Mohammad Al Sahlawi

If the Saudis are to get the goals needed to make a second-ever knockouts appearance, Al Sahlawi, 30, is their solitary source.

A tally of more than 25 international strikes speak of his quality. The only worry is fact this lethality has gone missing, of late, on the international stage.

COACH

Juan Antonio Pizzi

Pizzi took the reins from fellow Argentinian Bauza last November, but has struggled for consistency since. In his previous post with Chile, victory in the 2016 Copa America did not inspire a berth at the World Cup.

Will hope to avoid a repeat of Carlos Alberto Parreira’s mid-event sacking in 1998.

CAPTAIN

Osama Hawsawi

With more than 130 international caps earned, Hawsawi has experience in bundles. Yet this will be the ex-Anderlecht player’s first World Cup and there are fears at 34-years old he is creaking.

Won’t relish facing Uruguay’s fearsome attack of Luis Suarez, Edinson Canvani etc.

YOUNG STAR

Fahad Al Muwallad

Al Muwallad, 23, has packed a lot into his promising career.

Since debuting for Ittihad aged just 16, he’s gone on to terrorise opposition full-backs across Asia. The pocket-sized winger must hope he’s not collected too much dust on the sidelines at Levante during his half-season loan.

KEY FACTS AND STATS

– Three managers since they qualified to World Cup 2018 – Van Marwijk, Pizzi and Bauza.

– It’s 12 years since Saudi Arabia last appeared at a World Cup, where they lost all three group games in Germany.

– 16 goals scored by striker Al Sahlawi in qualifying, joint best with UAE’s Ahmed Khalil and Poland’s Robert Lewandowski.

FIFA Rating

71 DEF 72 MID 71 ATT

World Cups competed at

Five (First in 1994)

World Cup record

P13, W2, D2, L9

Best finish

Round of 16 (1994)

Qualification record

P18, W12, D3, L3

World ranking

67

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Mohammed Al Owais (Al Ahli Jeddah), Yasser Al Mosailem (Al Ahli Jeddah), Abdullah Al Mayouf (Al Hilal)

Defenders: Mansoor Al Harbi (Al Ahli Jeddah), Yasser Al Shahrani, Mohammed Al Breik (both Al HIlal), Motaz Hawsawi (Al Ahli Jeddah), Osama Hawsawi (Al Hilal), Omar Hawsawi (Al Nassr), Ali Al Bulaihi (Al Hilal)

Midfielders: Abdullah Al Khaibari (Al Shabab Riyadh), Abdulmalek Al Khaibri (Al Hilal), Abdullah Otayf (Al Hilal), Taisir Al Jassim (Al Ahli Jeddah), Housain Al Mogahwi (Al Ahli Jeddah), Salman Al Faraj, Mohamed Kanno (both Al Hilal), Hattan Bahebri (Al Shabab Riyadh), Salem Al Dawsari (Al Hilal), Yahya Al Shehri (Al Nassr), Fahad Al Muwallad (Al Ittihad)

Forwards: Mohammad Al Sahlawi (Al Nassr), Muhannad Assiri (Al Ahli Jeddah)

VERDICT

A once-promising tournament has been made tougher since the break-up with Van Marwijk. Will do well to secure a runners-up spot.