Saudi Arabia’s new football season kicks off next week with the Saudi Super Cup

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The Saudi Arabian football season of 2024-2025 kicks off next week when last year’s top four finishers in the Roshn Saudi League compete for the Saudi Super Cup. (Supplied)

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Updated 09 August 2024

Arab News

August 09, 2024 21:29

Saudi Arabia’s new football season kicks off next week with the Saudi Super Cup

Trophy will see Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli, Al-Taawoun, domestic treble winners Al-Hilal playing between Aug. 13-17
The 4 clubs will compete at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Stadium in Abha for the first time

Updated 09 August 2024

Arab News

August 09, 2024 21:29

RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian football season of 2024-2025 kicks off next week when last year’s top four finishers in the Roshn Saudi League compete for the Saudi Super Cup.
The traditional curtain-raiser of domestic football in the Kingdom, the Saudi Super Cup will see Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli, Al-Taawoun and domestic treble winners Al-Hilal competing for the prestigious trophy in Abha between Aug. 13 and 17.
The four clubs will compete for the honor at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Stadium in the picturesque city of Abha for the first time.
This year’s tournament continues with the expanded four-team format introduced in 2023.
The semifinals will see Al-Hilal face Al-Ahli on Aug. 13, with Al-Nassr taking on Al-Taawoun the following day. The final is to be held at 7:15 p.m. Saudi time on Aug. 17.
Al-Hilal, as treble winners last season, will be aiming to maintain their impressive form from the 2023-24 campaign which saw the Riyadh side, under Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus, secure their record 19th league title.
Portugal’s Ruben Neves, Serbian duo Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and the returning Neymar are all set to feature in the season-opening competition.
Al-Ahli, who are returning for their second top-flight season, will provide a tough test for last year’s champions as the Jeddah club aim to secure their first Super Cup victory since 2016.
With a strong pre-season behind them and featuring the return of international stars in Edouard Mendy, Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino, Al-Ahli will be difficult to beat.
Al-Nassr, led by Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, will have their sights set on redemption going into the new season, after a dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat in the King Cup final ended a difficult campaign.
With new signing Brazilian goalkeeper Bento set to feature, the Riyadh side will be aiming to add to their two previous successes in the Saudi Super Cup.
Al-Taawoun will look to replicate the fine form that saw the Buraydah outfit achieve an impressive fourth-place finish in the top flight. Led for the first time by new manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena, the side will aim to provide an early shock in the new season.
The Saudi Super Cup represents the start of a historic new season of domestic football in Saudi Arabia and is the first football tournament to take place in the Kingdom since the historic announcement of the country’s official bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
For more information on how to purchase tickets for the Saudi Super Cup, visit: https://webook.com/en/saudi-super-cup-2024

Inter Milan reach Italian Cup quarterfinals after Asllani scores direct from corner kick

Updated 20 December 2024

December 20, 2024 04:15

Inter Milan reach Italian Cup quarterfinals after Asllani scores direct from corner kick

Marko Arnautovic and Kristjan Asllani netted in the first half to help Inter set up a quarterfinal match against Lazio
Teenage defender Mike Aidoo came on two minutes from time for Inter for his professional debut

Updated 20 December 2024

December 20, 2024 04:15

MILAN: A much-changed Inter Milan side eased to a 2-0 victory over Udinese in the Italian Cup on Thursday.

Marko Arnautovic and Kristjan Asllani netted in the first half to help Inter set up a quarterfinal match against Lazio — the team they routed 6-0 in the league on Monday. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi made eight changes to that side.

The match was briefly halted shortly before halftime when a spectator collapsed in the stands. The fan was immediately treated as the stadium fell into silence and the players looked on, clearly concerned.

A defibrillator had to be used before the fan was carried out on a stretcher to the applause of the San Siro crowd. The fan was reportedly stable in the hospital.

When play resumed after a delay of more than five minutes, the Udinese players still seemed distracted as Asllani’s corner from the left evaded everyone and went in off the far post.

That put Inter 2-0 up as it had broken the deadlock in the 30th minute following an Udinese error. A hideous pass from visiting midfielder Jurgen Ekkelenkamp was straight at Mehdi Taremi and he fed in Arnautovic, who slotted into the bottom right corner.

Taremi hit the post in the second half, while Inter also had an early penalty revoked on review.

Teenage defender Mike Aidoo came on two minutes from time for Inter for his professional debut.

Topics: Inter Milan

Guiu hat trick helps Chelsea rout Rovers 5-1 to extend Conference League dominance

Updated 20 December 2024

December 20, 2024 04:12

Guiu hat trick helps Chelsea rout Rovers 5-1 to extend Conference League dominance

Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, has scored six goals in six games in the third-tier competition
Rolando Mandragora netted for Fiorentina three minutes from time to salvage a 1-1 draw at Vitoria

Updated 20 December 2024

December 20, 2024 04:12

LONDON: Marc Guiu’s first-half hat trick helped Chelsea ease past Shamrock Rovers 5-1 on Thursday to complete the league phase of the UEFA Conference League with a 100 percent record.

The 18-year-old forward, who netted twice in a 3-1 win over Astana in the previous round, opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a header from close range at Stamford Bridge.

Markus Poom equalized for the Irish visitors, but Guiu restored Chelsea’s lead with an angled shot from the left in the 34th.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made it 3-1 six minutes later before Guiu completed his first hat trick for the Blues with a header in stoppage time.

“I’ve never seen anyone press like him,” Dewsbury-Hall told TNTSports about Guiu. “He doesn’t slow down, he’ll keep working hard. You forget how young he is. He’s only 18. I’m happy that he got his hat trick, he deserves it.”

Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, has scored six goals in six games in the third-tier competition.

Marc Cucurella finished off the rout in the second half.

It’s now eight straight wins in all competitions for Enzo Maresca’s team, which equals the club’s record set in December 2016.

Of the 36 clubs involved in the revamped competition, the top eight in the standings go directly to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into the knockout playoffs in February. The bottom 12 teams are eliminated.

Unlike the new-look Champions League and Europa League, teams in the Conference League face six opponents, not eight, in the league phase that replaced the traditional group stage.

Chelsea was the only team that stayed perfect, the only team that qualified to the round of 16 with a game to spare, and it scored 26 in six games, by far the most goals.

Despite its first defeat in the competition, Rovers finished 10th and became the first Irish club to advance to the knockout stage of a European competition.

Top eight

Rolando Mandragora netted for Fiorentina three minutes from time to salvage a 1-1 draw at Vitoria, a result that gave the Portuguese team second place with 14 points. Fiorentina, runner-up in the previous two editions, was a point back in third.

Rapid Vienna beat Copenhagen 3-0 to advance from fourth place on 13 points. Djurgarden was fifth with 13 points after a 3-1 win over Legia Warsaw, which was seventh place.

Lugano finished sixth after being held 2-2 at home by Pafos from Cyprus.

Cercle Brugge’s 1-1 draw against Basaksehir was enough to finish eighth.

Topics: Chelsea

‘And the winner is’: World’s first AI boxing judge unveiled in experiment for Fury-Usyk fight

Updated 20 December 2024

Arab News

December 20, 2024 03:56

‘And the winner is’: World’s first AI boxing judge unveiled in experiment for Fury-Usyk fight

Updated 20 December 2024

Arab News

December 20, 2024 03:56

RIYADH: Organizers of the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have released a video of how an Artificial Intelligence powered 4th judge will score the fight between the heavyweights this Saturday.
The much anticipated rematch between Britain’s Fury and Ukraine’s Usyk will take place in Riyadh, as part of the cultural and sporting spectacle known as Riyadh Season.
The video, posted early on Friday by the Saudi entertainment authority chief, Turki Alalshikh, features an AI judge explaining how it will score the bout.
“I am the first ever AI boxing judge,” the humanoid figure announces in the 38-second clip, “and I am here to bring fairness to the ring.”
The AI judge, powered by The Ring, a boxing magazine dedicated to the sport, is just an experiment and will not decide the fight, according to Alalshikh.
Boxing fights are usually scored by three judges, who use the 10-point system each round to choose a winner in case there is no knockout.
“I analyze every round, every move, and every decisive moment during the fight,” it said.

Landed punches, effective aggression and defense will be monitored. (The Ring)

Like human judges, the bot will try to track landed punches, effective aggression and defense, collecting real-time metrics to calculate a score and decide who has won.
In the past, human judges have been accused of not scoring correctly, being biased, or more seriously, being corrupt, leading to controversy within the sport.
It is unclear what the long term impact of the experiment will be, but other sports such as football and cricket use similar technologies to support referees and umpires to make accurate decisions more quickly, which have led to fairer results.
Excitement continues to build for the Saturday night fight, which is expected to start some time after midnight in the Saudi capital. Fury, who exercised a clause in his contract for a rematch after his May defeat to the Ukrainian, who has an unblemished 21-0 record, is out for revenge, exciting boxing fans across the globe.
The fighters, who attended an event hosted by The Ring, faced-off for media photos on Thursday night ahead of the official Weigh-In on Friday.

The two fighters faced off for photos in Riyadh on Thursday. (X/@Turki_alalshikh)

Topics: Tyson Fury Oleksandr Usyk Usyk 2 Fury

Balancing act required from Renard and Saudi at 26th Arabian Gulf Cup

Updated 14 sec ago

John Duerden

December 19, 2024 17:25

Balancing act required from Renard and Saudi at 26th Arabian Gulf Cup

Green Falcons will be taking a strong squad to Kuwait, but one eye will be on the resumption of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers
Bahrain and Iraq will see this tournament the same way as Saudi — a chance to lift a trophy but also to get ready for March’s crucial qualifiers

Updated 14 sec ago

John Duerden

December 19, 2024 17:25

The last time the Arabian Gulf Cup rolled around was just after the 2022 World Cup and it was almost an afterthought for Saudi Arabia and head coach Herve Renard, especially as the Saudi Pro League was in full swing.

Not this time. As the 26th edition kicks off this week, all eyes are on Kuwait and whether the Green Falcons can find the form to lift the trophy and also ignite their faltering 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.

Winning the Gulf Cup for the first time since 2004 will be a big deal but the excitement and plaudits would quickly fade if the team miss out on the expanded 48-team World Cup. Renard has a tricky test to get the balance right: achieve results but also look ahead. Another failure would increase the already substantial pressure surrounding Saudi Arabia.

Qualification for the 2026 World Cup has not been going well. After six games in the third round, Saudi Arabia have six points, with just that one win in China (courtesy of a last-minute Hassan Kadesh header) to look back on. With only the top two certain of going to the World Cup and Japan already nine points clear, the other five teams are separated by just a single point. It is going to be a brutal race for second and if the Green Falcons do not improve before March’s games then everything is in doubt.

The Gulf Cup is also important for Renard. The Frenchman returned in October to replace Roberto Mancini. Renard may only have ended his first spell just over 18 months earlier, but he needs time to get to grips with the team. His first game in November was a battling 0-0 draw in Australia, an encouraging start that was quickly followed by a 2-0 loss at the hands of Indonesia in Jakarta.

Against that background comes the Gulf Cup. There are no Saudi Pro League games meaning that, unlike last time, Renard will take his strongest side to compete in the eight-team tournament that is split into two groups of four with the top two going into the semis. Saudi Arabia are in Group B and kick off against Bahrain on Sunday — a rival for that second spot in World Cup qualification — before Yemen on Dec. 25 and Iraq three days later.

Even assuming, as expected, Yemen end up fourth and last, it should be a tough few days. Bahrain and Iraq will see this tournament the same way as Saudi — a chance to lift a trophy but also to get ready for March’s crucial qualifiers. Getting to the final is not just an objective in its own right but also means five competitive games and valuable preparation time.

The biggest issue for Saudi Arabia is obvious: goals, or rather the lack of them. Three scored in six qualifiers is a shocking statistic and none in the last four is even worse. Defender Kadesh scored twice from set pieces in the second matchday against China which followed Musab Al-Juwayr’s equaliser against Indonesia in the opening game. The strikers have not found the target at all. If these issues continue then Saudi Arabia are going to miss out on the World Cup.

Firas Al-Buraikan, Saleh Al-Shehri and Abdullah Al-Hamdan are all familiar names while Abdullah Radif is an increasingly regular face at international level. Renard needs to get these forwards firing, or at least one of them.

There is some encouraging news. In this week’s friendly, played behind closed doors to the media as well as fans, Saudi Arabia defeated Trinidad and Tobago 3-1. Both Al-Shehri and Al-Hamdan were on target. With the poor results of late and the negative publicity around the team, it was perhaps a wise decision to make the match low-key and Renard will be hoping that his strikers now have a little more confidence.

The injury to Salem Al-Dawsari makes it all a little harder. The team’s talisman and best creative talent is likely to miss the early stages, meaning that others will have to step up. There may be a chance for some younger talents such as Ayman Fallatah, Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari, Abdulaziz Al-Othman and Mohammed Al-Qahtani to make a name for themselves but the old stalwarts at the back such as Ali Al-Bulaihi, Sultan Al-Ghannam (though these two missed training Wednesday due to minor ailments) and Yasser Al-Shahrani need to play their part.

In short, the pressure is on. The Gulf Cup could be the catalyst for change that Renard and Saudi Arabia are looking for after a disappointing 2024.

Topics: Arabian Gulf Cup Green Falcons Herve Renard

Son scores direct from a corner as Tottenham beats Man United 4-3 in the English League Cup

Updated 20 min 59 sec ago

December 19, 2024 22:29

Son scores direct from a corner as Tottenham beats Man United 4-3 in the English League Cup

Updated 20 min 59 sec ago

December 19, 2024 22:29

Son Heung-min scored directly from a corner to fire Tottenham into the English League Cup semifinals with a thrilling 4-3 win over Manchester United on Thursday.
Son's spectacular strike in the 88th-minute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium came as Spurs tried to hold off a dramatic comeback from United, having led 3-0 in the second half.
United had pulled it back to 3-2 and was pushing for an equalizer when Son whipped in a curling right-footed shot past goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.
Jonny Evans scored again for United in stoppage time, but Spurs held on for the win that had looked all but certain shortly after halftime.
Having gone ahead through Dominic Solanke’s goal from close range in the 15th, Tottenham took control after the break.
Dejan Kulusevski doubled the lead a minute after the restart and Solanke fired in his second in the 54th.
United head coach Ruben Amorim made a triple substitution — bringing on Joshua Zirkzee, Amad Diallo and Kobbie Mainoo.
It quickly had an impact with Zirkzee forcing Fraser Forster into a flying save and then capitalizing on a loose pass by the Tottenham goalkeeper to make it 3-1.
Forster was guilty of another mistake in the 70th when his attempted clearance was closed down by Diallo and ricocheted over the line.
United increased the pressure, but Son's unlikely goal gave Spurs a cushion again — and it proved to be the decisive strike after Evans' late header reduced the deficit again.

Saudi Arabia’s new football season kicks off next week with the Saudi Super Cup

Saudi Arabia’s new football season kicks off next week with the Saudi Super Cup

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Balancing act required from Renard and Saudi at 26th Arabian Gulf Cup

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Son scores direct from a corner as Tottenham beats Man United 4-3 in the English League Cup

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Saudi Arabia’s new football season kicks off next week with the Saudi Super Cup

Saudi Arabia’s new football season kicks off next week with the Saudi Super Cup

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Inter Milan reach Italian Cup quarterfinals after Asllani scores direct from corner kick

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