Saudi Fouad Anwar is one of the most famous players in the Kingdom, as he is the only one to score in all major international football events, whether at the level of clubs or teams.
Anwar considers - in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net - that "Al-Akhdar" is in a strong group, within the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, will not discourage him from striving to achieve the fans' dream of qualifying for the second round at least, especially since holding the tournament in Qatar will be one of the factors help to achieve this.
He believes that the Qatar World Cup will be an event that the Arabs and the world will be proud of, and that hosting a tournament of this size is not an honor for Qataris only, but for all Gulf and Arab countries, and that Qatari preparations for the event are up to the responsibility in light of the presence of unique stadiums.
Anwar has a distinguished football history, as he won 13 titles throughout his career in the stadiums, with 3 titles with national teams, most notably the Junior World Cup, 10 titles with clubs, most notably the Asian Cup Winners' Cup, and 3 local league titles.
His history is also distinguished by participating in all world championships, as he participated in the Junior World Cup (Scotland 1989), the Youth World Cup (Saudi Arabia 1989), the Senior World Cup (America 1994, France 1998), the Olympics (Atlanta 1996) and the Club World Cup with Al-Nasr (Brazil 2000).
The following is the text of the interview:
Fouad Anwar (second standing from the left) in the "Green" squad at the France 1998 World Cup (Saudi Press)
Is the Saudi national team capable of skipping the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and repeating the achievement of the 1994 World Cup in America?
We hope that this will be achieved, and that it will advance to the farthest roles, especially that Saudi football dreams of this achievement, but we do not want to compare the current players with the 1994 World Cup generation, as the latter was a different case and its situation was exceptional, and we must always think about forming a strong team from In order to achieve greater achievements.
What is the state of the Saudi national team's generation in the 1994 World Cup?
Generation 94 was distinguished by the combination of promising players and experience, and his keenness to provide an honorable performance befitting the reputation of the Saudi national team.
After this World Cup, the experienced retired, and the youth completed the march and qualified for the second time in a row in the 1998 World Cup in France.
This generation received great support from Prince Faisal bin Fahd, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth Welfare, as well as Prince Sultan bin Fahd, where everyone joined forces for the success of the team, which appeared in an honorable way that is still told to everyone, whether from the Saudis or the Arab brothers.
Did Saudi football benefit from the 1994 generation?
Unfortunately, there are great players who have made many achievements, whether at the level of world championships or Asia and the Gulf, but we, as Arab teams, do not always benefit from the big names. The foreigner is always the one who dominates the scene in training teams and working in clubs, so that he is the preferred morally and materially.
I worked in training with clubs for 8 years, specializing in the age groups, and presented distinguished players for both Al Shabab and Al Nasr teams or the national team, and I was satisfied with my work during this period before I retired from coaching in 2008.
You were among the Saudi players in the 1994 World Cup. What are your most important memories?
This participation was full of beautiful memories, beginning with qualifying by defeating Iran (4-3) at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, and then the team’s players emptied for the World Cup, and continuing in intermittent camps for 5 months between Riyadh, Jeddah and France, and then a final camp in America before month of the tournament.
My most beautiful memory of this tournament is my first goal for Saudi Arabia in the history of the World Cup against the Netherlands, then the success in scoring again to beat Morocco, and then qualifying after defeating Belgium.
Everyone was amazed by the level of Saudi Arabia during its first participation in the World Cup, and in our match in the second round against Sweden (the fourth World Cup America) we were affected by the intense heat, as the match was held at 12 noon, and if the first half ended without goals, we could have achieved the surprise, but the experience of Sweden’s players was decided The match (3-1) after we missed a lot of chances.
The Saudi national team dazzled the whole world in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, led by the distinguished Fouad Anwar 🇸🇦🔥
The Saudi green almost set off a very big surprise against the Netherlands team, which is packed with stars such as Koeman, Bergkamp and Rijkaard 🇳🇱💫@FuadAnwar06 |
@saudiFF
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@fifaworldcup_ar) September 20, 2022
What does it mean to you to score the first goal for Saudi Arabia in the World Cup finals?
This is something I am proud of every day, because until now all Saudis sing about this goal, and when my children and grandchildren see it, I feel very happy and always proud, as well as it has become a beautiful history that is broadcast with every World Cup.
Therefore, I call on all Saudi players to strive in the World Cup in Qatar, and to write for themselves a distinguished history that future generations will be proud of, so that, after decades, they will become immortal in the memory of the football and the Saudi fans.
How do you see your participation with all the teams of the age groups in the World Cup tournaments?
It was an honor for me to be the only player who participated with Saudi Arabia in all world championships, as I participated in the Junior World Cup in Scotland 1989, the Youth World Cup in Saudi Arabia 1989, the Senior World Cup twice in 1994 in America and 1998 in France, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the World Club World Cup with Al-Nasr in Brazil 2000.
Also, at the Asian level, I participated with the national team in all categories, starting with the juniors, passing through the youth, and ending with the first team.
Former Saudi player Fouad Anwar (Saudi Press)
How do you see the development of Saudi football?
Saudi football in recent years has developed greatly, after allowing the league clubs to sign 8 foreign players, which raised the strength and value of the league in the presence of high-level players and international coaches.
The support estimated at 50 million riyals ($13.70 million) - allocated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to all league clubs - contributed to the development of the competition, as part of a plan to raise Saudi football to a prominent position, and make the local league one of the top 10 leagues in the world over the next six years.
Has the increase in the number of foreigners in the league negatively affected the national team?
No, not at all. If there was any negative impact, the Saudi team would not have qualified for the World Cup in Russia, and then qualified for the World Cup in Qatar.
The contact of local players with foreigners greatly led to their development, raising their levels and gaining more experience, which was translated on the ground with distinguished results and numbers for the "Green", which has become one of the best Asian teams.
How do you see the Saudi team in the Qatar World Cup?
The Saudi group is one of the strongest groups, and includes teams with a great history in the world championships. Argentina are among the candidates for the title, Mexico is one of the oldest football teams, and Poland has great stars in the largest European leagues.
What does holding the World Cup in an Arab country mean to you?
Holding the World Cup in Qatar is an important and big thing, and it is an honor not only for Qataris, but for all Gulf and Arab countries, and it will be an event that Arab and international countries will sing about.
The State of Qatar will be up to the responsibility, and the whole world saw how it succeeded in hosting many tournaments during the past period in a wonderful way, and it is sufficient that the eight World Cup stadiums are unique and not present in the largest countries in the world.
Anwar: The 94th generation was distinguished by the combination of promising players and experience (Reuters)
Will the World Cup Qatar serve Arab football?
Officials in Qatar, led by the Emir of the country, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, have made it their priority that the championship be for all Arabs, and the world will soon see what Qatar will offer to the world.
I believe that Qatar will present an honorable World Cup, and will open eyes to the capabilities of Arab countries, and will give them the opportunity to organize the event, as the Qatar World Cup will be the key for Arab countries to host the World Cup in the future.
What is your comment about the reports on Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece submitting files to host the 2030 World Cup?
We hope for this, and I think that Saudi Arabia and Egypt are among the major countries in this field, and they have the ability to host an event of the size of the World Cup, and they will be a wonderful pair.
How do you see the sports reality that Saudi Arabia is currently experiencing?
We Saudis are proud that our country hosts all international sporting events, whether in terms of football (such as the Spanish, Italian, Brazilian and Argentine Super) or other sports such as rallying, Formula-1, boxing, chess, and others.