The Green Falcons... how far can they fly?

The political ban on Qatar — the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup — led by Saudi Arabia may cast its shadow on the Asian Cup matches.

The regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia is expected to dominate Group E. Currently 69 in the FIFA rankings, the team is one of the most successful ones in the Asian Cup, winning the title thrice and finishing the runner-up as many times. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia won the last of its three titles when UAE hosted the tournament in 1996. The Green Falcons would be looking to repeat history even as they are training under manager Juan Antonio Pizzi.

In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Saudis started with a 5-0 loss to host Russia and then improved a lot to lose narrowly (1-0) to Uruguay before defeating Egypt 2-1. Since then, Saudi Arabia has played five friendlies, beating Yemen 1-0 and settling for draws with Bolivia (2-2), Iraq (1-1) and Jordan (1-1). It also lost to Brazil (2-0).

The group pits political rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar against each other. The political ban on Qatar — the host of the 2022 FIFA

GETTY IMAGES Wisewords: Juan Antonio Pizzi, the head coach of Saudi Arabia, speaks to his wards at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Ranked 69 by FIFA, the team is the strongest on paper in its group in the Asian Cup.