• Saudi Arabia have qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup
• Saad Haqawi reveals team’s ambitions at the tournament
• The Al Nassr forward also discusses playing with Cristiano Ronaldo at club level

With less than six months before the start of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™, Saad Haqawi is at a pivotal stage in his burgeoning football career.

The 19-year-old is hungry to make his mark with Saudi Arabia at the tournament – which they qualified for by finishing runners-up at the AFC U-20 Asian Cup – and views the event an important step towards an even bigger dream.

The talented young forward aspires to represent his country at the FIFA World Cup 2034™, which Saudi Arabia will host for the first time. He will be 28 by then and, he hopes, at the peak of his abilities.

As well as his experience at international level, Haqawi is also benefiting from learning from one of the greatest players of all time with his club. The Al Nassr attacker can count Cristiano Ronaldo as a team-mate and he describes sharing a dressing room with the Portuguese superstar as “incredible”.

In an in-depth interview with FIFA, Haqawi discusses how Ronaldo has inspired him, his U-20 World Cup excitement, and his senior national team ambitions.

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FIFA: You were in the Saudi team that finished runners-up in the U-20 Asian Cup. How would you rate your campaign in the tournament overall?

Saad Haqawi: It was a very long road and we were going for the gold medal. But thank God, we qualified for the World Cup in the end, and that’s the most important thing.

What were the main challenges you faced during the tournament?

Our match against China (a 1-0 win in the quarter-finals) was the biggest challenge. It was a hard-fought, beautiful match, especially with their fans there. We delivered an excellent performance and got the win we needed. After overcoming that challenge, we started to think about winning the title. But unfortunately, we were not successful in the end (Australia beat Saudi Arabia on penalties in the final).

You played a crucial role during the group stage, scoring important goals in wins over Jordan and Korea DPR…

It’s all thanks to God, and then to my team-mates who helped me do so well. It’s my duty as a striker to score, and the goals helped us advance.

By reaching the semi-finals, Saudi Arabia officially secured a ticket to the 2025 World Cup in Chile. You must be very proud of that achievement?

To qualify my homeland for a global event is an indescribable feeling. It’s nothing new for the Saudi team. We were confident about qualifying, and we all have confidence in one another. From the start of the tournament, we played as a unit. We faced many difficulties, but we overcame them. It was an amazing feeling. Any player would want to be in this position and represent their country in a tournament like this. Thank God, we successfully completed the mission.

What does it mean to you, as emerging players, to qualify for a tournament of this magnitude?

This will be our first time at a World Cup, and it’s an amazing feeling. You can see the joy on the faces of our families and friends. The entire Saudi people are proud of us. God willing, we’ll be well prepared for the tournament.

Saudi Arabia reached the last 16 at the U-20 World Cup in 2011 and 2017, but have never gone further than that. What are your ambitions at Chile 2025?

Our ambitions definitely exceed reaching the Round of 16. We’re not looking just to replicate that achievement. We want to go further than that. Our ambitions are bigger, much bigger.

You play with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr and, in January, assisted a goal for him. You celebrated together and he pointed at you. How did that feel?

It’s incredible to play with someone of his calibre, with everything he’s accomplished and his indescribable career. You’re playing with a star that anyone in the world would want to play with, or even just sit with. Thank God, it’s thanks to the efforts I made to get here. I hope to be like him some day.

As for the celebration, I could have scored the goal before making that pass to him, but we want to help him reach goal number 1,000. We hope he achieves that milestone. I had the opportunity to score, but the safer decision was to pass, especially because he needed the goal more than I do.

As a young player at the beginning of your career, what are your personal goals?

My ambition is to reach the highest levels of professional football. I hope to achieve big things with the youth team and the senior national team, and to win titles with my club as well. Of course, my main objective is to be with the senior national team. I want to be part of the team that will participate in the 2034 World Cup. That’s my dream, God willing.

Source: FIFA