England and Saudi Arabia are the only two teams in this edition of the FIFA World Cup to have their 23-man squads consist only of players playing their club football in the domestic structure of the country itself.
The FIFA World Cup 2018 is underway in Russia and just three days, fans have witnessed some fantastic action and high-quality football. From Ronaldo’s historic hat-trick to Iceland’s first-ever appearance at the tournament, records have been tumbling from the start. Some records were even created before the competition kicked off and one such unique piece of trivia features two nations – England and Saudi Arabia.
Interestingly, these two nations have something in common at this World Cup that the other 30 cannot claim to have. They are the only two countries where all 23 players in the final squad have been sourced from the country’s domestic structure. This means that all the players in the England and Saudi Arabia squad play for English and Saudi Arabian clubs respectively.
Players from Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Manchester United form a large chunk of the 23-man England set and leading them will Spurs striker Harry Kane. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia have two teams dominating proceedings – Al Ahli of Jeddah and Al Hilal of Riyadh. 17 out of the 23 players ply their trade for either of these two teams while the other clubs are Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab and Al-Ittihad.
Three of the Saudi players had been loaned to Spanish side Villarreal but the deal was cancelled in time for the World Cup and the players returned to their original clubs. The team from Asia did not have the best of outings in their opener and were thumped by hosts Russia 5-0. England, on the other hand, are yet to play their first game and open their campaign against Tunisia on Monday.