SAUDI ARABIA face Argentina, Poland and Mexico as they have it all to do in the World Cup group stages.

The best finish Saudi Arabia have ever seen was when they reached the round of 16 back in 1994 and have only qualified for six World Cup tournaments.

They will be looking to match their highest ever finish but face a tough challenge, going into Group C as underdogs.

The country were in the news last year when Newcastle United were taken over by a consortium headed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) – but do Saudi Arabia own Newcastle? We have all the details.

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Do Saudi Arabia own side Newcastle?

The Magpies were sold by former owner Mike Ashley in a deal worth a reported £300 million to the consortium back in 2021.

PIF own 80 percent of the club and their chair is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of the king of Saudi Arabia.

His involvement in the takeover led to opposition from human rights groups, labelling the purchase as "sportswashing".

Despite this, the Premier League approved the takeover of Newcastle following "legally binding assurances" that Saudi Arabia would not be in control of the club.

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The public face of PIF is Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who is Chairman of Newcastle, while PCP Capital Partners received 10 percent of the shares and RB Sports and Media own the final 10 percent.

Al-Rumayyan and Amanda Stavely, the owner of PCP, are seen as the face of the deal with the country of Saudi Arabia not owning Newcastle as the Premier League were assured.

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