Position: Midfielder
Born: 08.07.80
Club: Al Ittihad

Saud Khariri is a hard-working central midfielder who has played a key role in recent success for both club and country.

His combative midfield performances were instrumental as Saudi club Al Ittihad won back-to-back Asian Champions League titles and the Saudi national team secured their place at a fourth straight World Cup finals.

Khariri's finest moment for the national team was his goal in the crucial 2-0 qualification victory over 2002 World Cup semi-finalists South Korea.

As the heartbeat of the team's midfield, Khariri will have a major part to play if Saudi Arabia are to avoid a repeat of their embarrassing performance at the last World Cup where they lost all three games, including an 8-0 humiliation at the hands of Germany.

• 8 Mohammed Noor
• 21 Mabrouk Zaid