The CONCACAF Gold Cup is a major association football tournament in the Americas, generally featuring teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Between 1963 and 1989, the tournament was known as the CONCACAF Championship. Though it is a regional tournament, nations from other federations have been invited as guests for select editions of the tournament.
Saudi Arabia is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and regularly competes in the AFC Asian Cup. On 19 December 2024, the Saudi Arabia national team announced that it would compete in both the 2025 and 2027 CONCACAF Gold Cups, only eight days after the country was awarded the hosting rights for the 2034 FIFA World Cup. They became the eighth guest country to compete at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and the third from Asia, after South Korea in 2000 and 2002, and Qatar in 2021 and 2023.
In the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, they were drawn into Group D alongside hosts the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti. The team beat Haiti 1–0 in their opening match, thanks to a penalty scored by Saleh Al-Shehri. After that victory, they continued the first round with an 1–0 loss to the United States and a 1–1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago. In the quarter-finals, they were drawn against defending champions Mexico in Arizona, where they lost 2–0, thanks to a goal from Alexis Vega and an own goal by Abdullah Madu.
The 2027 CONCACAF Gold Cup, it is unclear whether they will compete due to the 2026 Iran war.
Overview CONCACAF Gold Cup recordYearRound 2025Quarter-finals8th4112242027InvitedTotalQuarter-finals2/29411224
2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup Squad
Saudi Arabia's 60-man provisional squad list was announced by CONCACAF on May 19, 2025, with the final 25-man squad being announced on June 5, 2025, 10 days before their opening match.
Group stage
Quarter-finals
Overall head-to-head record OpponentWin %Total Source
Controversy The decision to announce Saudi Arabia as guests for 2025 and 2027 came four months after CONCACAF announced an investment deal with the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. The Human Rights Watch—citing the country's murder of journalists and the repression of both women's rights and human rights activists—described the deal as sportswashing. Though CONCACAF frequently invited guest countries in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Qatar's invitation to compete in 2021, before its 2022 FIFA World Cup, was the first in 16 years. In addition to the investments of the PIF, Saudi Arabia's invitation coincided with Saudi Aramco becoming the tournament's primary energy sponsor.
See also Saudi Arabia at the FIFA World Cup Saudi Arabia at the AFC Asian Cup
References