AFPSaudi Arabia are back to winning ways at last. Yet the problems remain, and they run deep in attack, above all in front of goal.
Nawaf Al-Abed's side edged Kuwait 1-0 on Wednesday at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah, kicking off their group-stage campaign at the 27th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup, "Gulf 27".
Saudi Arabia's only goal against Kuwait came as an own goal from Youssef Al-Haqan, after Humam Al-Hammami's shot struck his foot, deceived the goalkeeper and nestled into the net.
The Saudis have now gone three matches under Dônis without scoring themselves, against Spain and Cape Verde at the 2026 World Cup and then against Kuwait at Gulf Cup 27.
Their last goal came against Uruguay in the opening round of the group stage at the World Cup, a match that finished 1-1.
Throw in the final friendly before the World Cup, a goalless draw with Senegal, and the picture darkens: just one goal of their own in the last five matches.
Dônis has taken charge of seven games. Saudi Arabia have scored six goals in that time, less than one per match, and three of those came against Puerto Rico, ranked 154th in the world, with another an own goal against Kuwait.
Donis explained away the attacking shortfall that has dogged Saudi Arabia under his leadership after the Kuwait match, tracing the problem back to the World Cup and pointing to a failure to take the chances on offer.
There was no magic wand for the final touch, Donis admitted, an implicit nod to the players themselves carrying the blame. Work was under way to fix the issue and move the side to a better place.
What lies behind it, in the Greek coach's view, is a lack of confidence and composure in front of goal, which pushes his players into the wrong choices in and around the box.
He explained: "We are still suffering from the same problem since the World Cup. We have the ball, we control the match, and we bring the ball close to the opponent's penalty area, but the final pass and the final decision are not the best."
Deniss's remarks left supporters believing that Saudi Arabia dictate the tempo of matches and dominate them, with the only lingering problem being their failure to convert chances into goals. That is not true.
Yes, Saudi Arabia were the more dominant side against Kuwait, and several chances came their way, only for Abdullah Al-Hamdan's poor finishing to waste them. That much is natural given the gulf in quality. But it was not the reality at the World Cup, as Deniss claims.
Take the Cape Verde match, which finished goalless. Saudi Arabia wasted just one dangerous chance from seven shots, while their opponents did the same from a full 15 attempts on goal.
The expected goals told a starker story. Saudi Arabia managed 0.39, a full goal behind Cape Verde on 1.39.
Even on possession and control of the tempo, the African side held the upper hand, as the following figure shows.
Things looked worse against Spain, a 4-0 defeat in which Deniss's team registered a single shot between the posts and the crossbar. They created nothing dangerous, ending with an expected goals figure of just 0.14 and this shocking lack of control.
Even in the 1-1 draw with Uruguay, the only game in the last five in which Saudi Arabia scored themselves, they carried no clear attacking threat.
Saudi Arabia took seven shots, three of them between the posts and the crossbar, against 27 for Uruguay. That figure lays bare their absence going forward, particularly in the second half.
Their expected goals came to 0.66 from a single dangerous chance, against 1.72 for the Latin American side from two.
Uruguay's goalkeeper made only two saves. Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Al-Owais made a full nine, a gulf that captures La Celeste's dominance in the chart below.
The numbers point to one conclusion. Saudi Arabia's problem was never converting chances into goals, because they barely generated any in the first place. They were not the side with the upper hand in a single match they played.
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The problem looks clear enough given how the Greek coach keeps chopping and changing his selections, particularly in attack.
At the World Cup, Donis leaned on Firas Al-Buraikan as his main striker, a quick, skilful forward who joins in the build-up. Against Kuwait he turned instead to Abdullah Al-Hamdan, a player defined far more by consistency.
Injury ruled Salem Al-Dawsari out of the Gulf tournament, and that turned the change up front into a double one, with Humam Al-Humami stepping into his place.
Donis did not stop there. He recalled Saleh Abu Al-Shamat to the squad and handed him a start against Kuwait, while Sultan Mandash stayed on the bench. The front line looked completely different.
New faces brought a new approach. Rather than settle for counter-attacks, Donis tried to rely more on crosses, hoping to exploit Al-Hamdan's height and his strength in the air.
It did not work either. The change created further disruption in an attacking line that is clearly struggling under Donis.
