SPL Awards: 'Jewel' Al Juwayr could be Renard's ace in Saudi pack

The 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League season might be done and dusted, but two of the most important games of the Saudi football calendar for 2025 are still to take place.

Those, of course, fall as the final double-header in the Third Round of AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when Saudi Arabia take on Bahrain away, on June 5, and then Australia at home in Jeddah five days later.

With the Green Falcons currently third in Group C, three points behind Australia and thus one place below the final automatic qualification berth - Japan are already assured of top spot - they need a near-perfect window to give themselves a shot at direct entry to football’s global showpiece.

Plainly, so much is at stake. With that in mind, manager Herve Renard, back for his second stint, needs to find a way to get his malfunctioning attack - Saudi have scored once in their past six matches - back firing.

Key to that, then, might just be the form of emergent star Musab Al Juwayr.

The 21-year-old starlet, on the books of Al Hilal but having spent the past two seasons on loan at Al Shabab, has established himself as the most exciting Saudi talent of his generation.

Fortunately for Renard, the young midfielder arrives to the national team’s camp on the back of his best season yet in the RSL.

The numbers only tell part of the story, with five goals and 10 assists across the just-concluded campaign – a significant increase on Al Juwayr’s three goals and two assists in 2023-24 - placing him behind only Salem Al Dawsari for the Saudi player with the most goal contributions this term.

Most impressively, Al Juwayr completed a clean sweep of Young Player of the Month awards (seven) for this season, thus underlining his status as Saudi Arabia’s most compelling budding star.

On Wednesday, upon the confirmation of winners of the inaugural Saudi Pro League (SPL) Season Awards, Al Juwayr’s 2024-25 supremacy was rewarded with the RSL Young Player of the Season prize.

What will probably please Renard and his coaching staff the most is the total influence the youngster has had on Al Shabab, especially since Fatih Terim's appointment.

Al Juwayr’s ability has never been in doubt, from the initial matches he turned out for Al Hilal, which included converting the fifth and decisive penalty in a shootout win against Wydad Casablanca at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup. Back then, he was a fresh-faced 19-year-old.

If that demonstrated a cool head on young shoulders, it's a trait Al Juwayr continues to display with his performances in the RSL.

Prodigious playmaker Al Juwayr fast becoming crucial to club and country

Al Hilal loanee a huge hit for both Al Shabab and Saudi Arabia

Only recently, in an in-depth interview with the SPL, Al Ettifaq midfielder and veteran Dutch international Georginio Wijnaldum identified Al Juwayr as one of the players that has impressed him the most since arriving in the Kingdom.

“When we analysed [Al Shabab] in the videos, I already saw on the ball [and] the passes he made between the lines [that he was] really good,” the former Liverpool star told the SPL.

It was high praise indeed from a player that has been there and done it at the highest level of the game – Wijnaldum won almost every major club trophy at Liverpool – and shows the respect Al Juwayr commands around the league.

This season, however, he has taken his game to a new level, marrying that ability with output meant he played a much more instrumental role for Al Shabab as they finished sixth in the Saudi top flight.

Playing alongside stars such as Cristian Guanca, Yannick Carrasco, Giacomo Bonaventura and Daniel Podence, Al Juwayr ranked No.1 for passes (2114), second for both chances created (69) and assists (10) - behind only Guanca on both metrics.

He also came in fourth overall in the league for passes in the final third, with 1244. However, his biggest contribution could be yet to come.

As Renard considers the must-win qualifiers, and how to get a tune out of his stunted attack, he will justifiably be looking to the likes of Al Juwayr and Al Dawsari to lead the way.

The former likes to operate in pockets of space in the inside-right channel, capable of playing wider or drifting in centrally, while the latter - the national-team captain - tends to do the same on the left.

The pair have been the most impactful Saudi stars in the RSL this season, and together in the same team should pose a number of issues to the Bahrain and Australian defences.

In what has been already a breakout campaign, if Al Juwayr could help inspire his country to a third consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance, and seventh overall, that might just be his greatest achievement of all.

--------

Check out our in-depth interview with the 2024-25 RSL's Best Coach, Al Ittihad manager Laurent Blanc

Blanc: On title secret, Clasico wake-up call, leader Benzema, and feeling at home in Jeddah

We spend time with 2024-25 RSL Coach of the Year