The 2026 World Cup was not just a tournament we entered in search of results; it was an honest mirror of what we planted over the past four years. National teams are not built in a month, nor are they defeated in a single match; rather, major tournaments reveal them to the world. Football

A draw against Uruguay gave some hope, but it did not hide the truth, then the heavy loss to Spain confirmed that the gap is not only in the result but in the technical details, identity, quality of preparation, and the ability to compete with major football schools.

After facing Cape Verde, the issue was no longer the draw and the collapse of qualification for the round of 32, but a larger question: What did we do over four years?

First: Selection criteria; the criteria for selecting players still raise many questions. The vast majority of the squad came from the local league, while the real standard for any advanced national team is technical readiness, minutes played, and the level the player shows throughout the season, regardless of the club's name or the player's history. The national team does not know favoritism. It only recognizes the most ready.

Second: The project before the coach; In recent years, we have relied on big coaching names, but they came to achieve quick results rather than build a long-term project.

A coach who succeeds with a team of complete elements is not necessarily the coach capable of establishing a new identity.

What the national team needs in the next phase is not just a famous coach, but a coach who believes in building, has a clear technical identity, and is given enough time to implement a project extending until the 2030 World Cup. Stability in the idea is more important than changing names.

Third: The Moroccan lesson; The Moroccan national team did not achieve what it did by chance or due to an abundance of stars, but as a result of clear institutional work, a stable technical identity, and proper investment in talents inside and outside Morocco.

In contrast, other Arab national teams possessed elements of no less quality, but they lacked clarity of the project. Stars alone do not make a national team. The plan is what turns stars into a team.

What next?

If we want the 2030 participation to be different, the review must start today, not after a new tournament.

First: Adopt fixed technical criteria for selecting players, based on readiness, numbers, and performance, away from names and impressions.

Second: Sign a coach with a building project, grant him authority and stability, and hold him accountable for implementing a long-term plan, not for the result of a single match.

Third: Strengthen the technical and administrative staff with experts who have real experience in building national teams, and establish a continuous monitoring system for players inside and outside the Kingdom.

Fourth: Raise the quality of international exposure, through regular camps and matches against teams from different football schools, so that the Saudi player gets used to the rhythm of major matches.

Fifth: Reduce the number of foreign professionals in the Saudi league, select the right talents, send them abroad, and sponsor them by companies in the Kingdom.

Sixth: Ban foreign signings in the first division league for both players and coaches.

Conclusion: The match against Cape Verde was not just the last group stage match, but an important station to read the reality of the national team.

As for the real reading, it must not stop at victory, draw, or defeat.

Success in football does not start from the referee's whistle, but from the offices that plan, the committees that set standards, and a project that knows where it wants to be in four years.

The World Cup does not favor anyone. It reveals what was hidden throughout an entire cycle.

And the most important question remains: Do we settle for changing the coach and some names? Or do we have the courage to review the entire project, so that the path to 2030 becomes clearer and more stable?

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