In the history of the World Cup, there are many teams that have experienced losing with big scores, but the most impressive one is Saudi . Other teams, such as El Salvador, lost to in the 1982 World Cup, Hungary 1:10, but they only played two World Cups, and they only had such an exaggerated score, so that's all. Saudi Arabia is different. Every time Saudi Arabia participates in the World Cup since the new century, it will experience a big score failure, and there are no exceptions. It is too difficult to not be remembered.
Moreover, the team that can defeat Saudi Arabia in large scores has the same characteristics, that is, it has sufficient strength, strong impact, and obvious high-altitude advantage. The small body of Saudi players can't withstand the rampage of such a team. In fact, such European powerhouses may not be very strong. For example, in the 2018 World Cup, Russia defeated Saudi Arabia 5-0, and its strength is not as good as Uruguay in the same group. It is worth mentioning that Uruguay only won one goal when he played against Saudi Arabia. It can be seen that Saudi Arabia is not afraid of a team like Uruguay, and it cannot beat it, but at least it is not timid in spirit and is not afraid of attributes.
The most typical example is the 2006 World Cup. Ukraine needs to have speed and body, and eat Saudi Arabia raw 4:0. Spain, the strongest in the same group, only won one goal by Saudi Arabia. Even Germany, which defeated Saudi Arabia 8-0 in the 2002 World Cup, was not the top team at that time. It can be seen that what Saudi Arabia fears the most is the European power team, and these teams are their nemesis. When encountering such a team, Saudi Arabia has all suffered defeats in the past 20 years, without exception.
In fact, there are many styles in the world football world, and no style is absolutely invincible. Sometimes, there are even situations where each style is restrained, which is a bit like the food chain. This situation also reflected in the World Cup. Although Saudi Arabia is weak, their style is actually very distinct. So, which teams are they nemesis?
Yes, Saudi Arabia also has teams they can restrain. Although they have only played 5 World Cups so far, through these five World Cup journeys, we can still see who they can restrain.
We might as well start with the 1994 World Cup. This World Cup Saudi Arabia showed us the fearless spirit of the newborn calf. They defeated Belgium and Morocco , lost Netherlands , and even reached the top 16. The victory over Belgium is a bit of a chill; and defeating Morocco is indeed a manifestation of strength. In other words, Saudi Arabia's victory over Morocco is a normal operation.
Let’s watch the 2006 World Cup again. Saudi Arabia was ravaged by Ukraine and teased by Spain. Only in the first round faced Tunisia , they were fearless and tied 2:2 with the other side.
Last watch the 18th World Cup. Similarly, Saudi Arabia cannot beat Russia and Uruguay, but in the last round, they can win 2:1. In terms of strength, Egypt, which has Salah , is at least stronger than Saudi Arabia? Even if Salah was injured, he went on the battlefield. But Saudi Arabia defeated Egypt under such a downturn.
Speaking of this, the answer is clear at a glance. The team that Saudi Arabia restrains in the World Cup is the North Africa team. In the history of the World Cup, Saudi Arabia has faced North African teams three times, with 2 wins and 1 draw. This result is too obvious compared to their total results in the World Cup.
Actually, this is not difficult to explain. First of all, most countries in North Africa are Arab countries, which are culturally similar to Saudi Arabia, while players are also similar in physical conditions. Saudi Arabia is afraid of tough teams with big heights, while North African teams generally do not have such characteristics. Secondly, North Africa does not have a particularly strong team, at least they do not have much advantage compared to Saudi Arabia. So they are basically evenly matched when they play against Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is not uncomfortable to play against North African teams at least. In terms of small technology, Saudi Arabia even has some advantages.
In fact, there are more amazing examples in other events. In 1999, the Federation Cup , Saudi Arabia was in the same group as Egypt. You should know that teams that can play in the Federation Cup are all champion teams from all continents. In fact, Egypt was indeed the champion of the 1998 African Cup, so Egypt was definitely not a bad guy at that time. But Saudi Arabia actually defeated Egypt with a score of 5:1. It can be seen that they are really not afraid of North African teams. On the contrary, North African teams are really a little afraid of them.
So, Saudi Arabia really deserves the role of North African nemesis. At least, they have not lost to North African teams in the World Cup so far. Of course, in the Qatar World Cup, Saudi Arabia is afraid that there will be no chance to show its ability, because it will be difficult for them to advance from the group and will not be able to meet North African teams.
