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Saudi national team train in Jeddah ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers

The Saudi Arabian national football team were put through their paces at a training camp in Jeddah on Sunday in preparation for the upcoming third and fourth rounds of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Supplied/SAFF)
The Saudi Arabian national football team were put through their paces at a training camp in Jeddah on Sunday in preparation for the upcoming third and fourth rounds of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Supplied/SAFF)
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Updated 06 October 2024
Arab News
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Saudi national team train in Jeddah ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers

Saudi national team train in Jeddah ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers
  • Green Falcons gear up for matches against Japan, Bahrain
Updated 06 October 2024
Arab News
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JEDDAH: The Saudi Arabian national football team were put through their paces at a training camp in Jeddah on Sunday in preparation for the upcoming third and fourth rounds of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Green Falcons are gearing up for two key matches, hosting Japan on Oct. 10 and Bahrain five days later. Both fixtures are taking place at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.

Head coach Roberto Mancini has called up 28 players for the games, with the squad featuring notable names such as Salem Al-Dawsari, Firas Al-Buraikan, and Saud Abdulhamid.

Saudi Arabia are in Group C in the third phase of the Asian qualifiers, and face strong competition from Japan, Australia, Bahrain, China and Indonesia as they aim to secure a place at the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico in two years’ time.

Topics: football soccer Saudi Arabia FIFA World Cup 2026 FIFA World Cup

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Third and last South Africa-Pakistan T20 washed out

Third and last South Africa-Pakistan T20 washed out
Updated 15 December 2024
AP
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Third and last South Africa-Pakistan T20 washed out

Third and last South Africa-Pakistan T20 washed out
  • South Africa win series 2-0, their first bilateral series victory since August 2022
  • Both teams begin three-match ODI series on Tuesday in Paarl followed by two Tests 
Updated 15 December 2024
AP

JOHANNESBURG: The third and last Twenty20 between South Africa and Pakistan was washed out on Saturday at the Wanderers.

Match officials waited two hours after the scheduled late-afternoon start before abandoning the game without a ball bowled due to rain and lightning.

South Africa won 2-0, its first bilateral series victory since August 2022.

The teams begin a three-match one-day international series on Tuesday in Paarl, followed by two tests.

Topics: Pakistan v South Africa Cricket

Saudi fencer Hasan Abed wins silver at World Cup meet

Saudi fencer Hasan Abed wins silver at World Cup meet
Updated 15 December 2024
Arab News
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Saudi fencer Hasan Abed wins silver at World Cup meet

Saudi fencer Hasan Abed wins silver at World Cup meet
Updated 15 December 2024
Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi fencer Hasan Abed has won a silver medal at the World Cup in Nigeria.
The Saudi youngster picked up the second place medal after losing to Egypt’s Youssef Shamel in the final of the event in Lagos.
Abed came through a field of 39 fencers taking part in the under 20 championships to reach Saturday’s final.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi sports minister, congratulated the fencer on social media, saying the youth was a “rising star”.
He defeated Greece’s Artemios Tzovanis in the quarterfinals and Egypt’s Eslam Osama in the semis on his route to the final.

Real Madrid held to high-scoring draw at Rayo Vallecano in La Liga

Real Madrid held to high-scoring draw at Rayo Vallecano in La Liga
Updated 15 December 2024
AP
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Real Madrid held to high-scoring draw at Rayo Vallecano in La Liga

Real Madrid held to high-scoring draw at Rayo Vallecano in La Liga
  • Madrid remained second, one point behind Barcelona
Updated 15 December 2024
AP

BARCELONA, Spain: Real Madrid was held at Rayo Vallecano to 3-3 in a thrilling derby on Saturday, missing a chance to overtake Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
Rayo set a fast pace and stunned the powerhouse with two headed goals from Unai López and Abdul Mumin to lead 2-0 by the 36th minute.
Federico Valverde struck with a powerful shot from well outside the area to pull one back for Madrid then Jude Bellingham headed the visitors level from a pass by Rodrygo just before halftime.
Madrid looked on course to completing a comeback win when Rodrygo put them in front for the first time with a deflected shot in the 56th.
But Rayo midfield leader Isi Palazón stretched out a boot to steer Florian Lejeune’s shot past Thibaut Courtois in the 64th.
Madrid was without striker Kylian Mbappé, who is nursing a left-thigh injury. Vinícius Júnior went on as a second-half substitute. Goalie Augusto Batalla saved the Brazilian’s best effort in the final period.
Madrid remained second, one point behind Barcelona.
Ancelotti ‘satisfied’
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted his team dropped its guard in defense when his players left López and Mumin unchecked to turn in crosses. But he said he was “satisfied” with his team’s reaction, especially given the injuries to defensive starters Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, and Ferland Mendy.
He also looked to last season, when his team drew twice with Rayo.
“Last year we didn’t win here, we drew, and we won the league anyway,” Ancelotti said. “We are playing well and on the right path. So, we had a draw. We need to look toward the next games.”
Madrid, as the Champions League titleholder, next travels to Qatar to play the Intercontinental Cup final against Mexican club Pachuca.
“We have a great chance to win a title on Wednesday, which would put the cherry on top of a great year,” Ancelotti said.
Bellingham took his league scoring run to six games in a row.
Vinícius will miss the next game at home against Sevilla after picking up his fifth yellow card, this time for protesting.
Rayo was in 13th place. The modest club has also held Atletico Madrid to 1-1 and forced Barcelona to rally for a 2-1 thanks to a late goal.
“Before the game we talked about all our recent games with Real Madrid when we had been close to winning, so we knew that if they weren’t on their game then we could get a good result,” Rayo coach Íñigo Pérez said.
Navas farewells Sevilla fans
Sevilla’s Jesus Navas bid farewell to his home fans during a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo as he nears the end of his 20-year playing career.
Players from both teams wore T-shirts saying “Navas Legend” before kickoff. They gave a tearful Navas an honor guard with trophies he won with the club placed on the pitch. Navas wept again, and kneeled to kiss the turf when he was substituted with 20 minutes left.
“Jesus has always been my role model, I remember watching him when I was a child,” Sevilla goal-scorer Manu Bueno said. “I am so proud to have scored this goal and be able to dedicate it to him.”
Navas announced in May he would retire at the end of the year, midway through this season.
Navas, who turned 39 last month, debuted for his boyhood club in 2004 and played two stints for Sevilla on either side of his spell at Manchester City from 2013-17 when he helped it win one Premier League. He helped Sevilla win two Europa Leagues and two Copa del Reys among other titles.
Navas helped Spain win the European Championship last summer, his second. He was also part of the 2010 World Cup champion squad.
His last game will be at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Dec. 22.
Larin helps Mallorca win with 10
Cyle Larin scored two goals, one while Mallorca was down to 10 men, to complete a 2-1 comeback win over Girona at home.
Larin scored from an assist by Vedat Muriqi to cancel out Girona’s opener by Donny Van de Beek.
Mallorca went down a man in the 32nd when Muriqi was red-carded for a hard foul of Byran Gil. But Larin got his brace when he pressured goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga and slid to deflect the goalie’s clearance attempt into the goal for the 51st-minute winner
Espanyol held Osasuna to 0-0 at home.

Topics: La Liga real madrid Rayo Vallecano

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Goalkeeper struck by object so Bundesliga teams finish game without attacking

Goalkeeper struck by object so Bundesliga teams finish game without attacking
Updated 14 December 2024
AP
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Goalkeeper struck by object so Bundesliga teams finish game without attacking

Goalkeeper struck by object so Bundesliga teams finish game without attacking
  • Patrick Drewes was preparing to take a goalkick at 1-1 in added time when he was hit by an object
  • Hofmann added Drewes was being treated by Bochum staff and that he didn’t know his condition
Updated 14 December 2024
AP

BERLIN: Bochum’s goalkeeper was struck on the head by an object apparently thrown from the stands at Union Berlin and both Bundesliga teams left the field on Saturday.
When the game resumed, they ran down the clock without trying to score.
Patrick Drewes was preparing to take a goalkick at 1-1 in added time when he was hit by an object with a similar size and shape to a cigarette lighter. He sat down and was given medical treatment.
The referee suspended the game and led both teams off the field.
Nearly half an hour later, the game resumed and Drewes was replaced by striker Philipp Hofmann. With about three minutes left of the game, both teams agreed to not try to score.
Players passed the ball around the field, walked and had conversations with opponents while waiting for the referee to declare the game over.
“Our coach and their coach, they discussed it together and the coach told us that we’ll go out there and bring the game to an end, and that’s what we did,” Hofmann told broadcaster Sky.
He indicated more than one lighter had been thrown around the time of the incident. Hofmann added Drewes was being treated by Bochum staff and that he didn’t know his condition.
“It’s not acceptable. No matter how hard he was struck, whether he’s bleeding or not, it’s just not appropriate,” he said.
Bochum chief executive Ilja Kaenzig said his club would file a formal protest over the result of the game, arguing that the referee should have it called after the incident. Union are likely to face disciplinary action over their hosting of the game, too.
Bochum had already made substitutions at three different points in the game, meaning it would not have been possible to bring on another goalkeeper to replace Drewes. Bochum finished the game with nine players because of Drewes’ absence and an earlier red card.
Union were 12th and Bochum last in the 18-team Bundesliga.

Topics: VfL Bochum Patrick Drewes Bundesliga Union Berlin

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Saudi Jockey Club hosts inaugural Crown Prince’s Cups at Riyadh Racing Season

Saudi Jockey Club hosts inaugural Crown Prince’s Cups at Riyadh Racing Season
Updated 14 December 2024
Arab News
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Saudi Jockey Club hosts inaugural Crown Prince’s Cups at Riyadh Racing Season

Saudi Jockey Club hosts inaugural Crown Prince’s Cups at Riyadh Racing Season
Updated 14 December 2024
Arab News

RIYADH: The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, hosted on Saturday the inaugural Crown Prince’s Cups, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The prestigious event, part of the 66th Riyadh Racing Season, featured high-stakes races for locally bred horses and internationally classified entries in the “produced and imported” open-grade category.

Held at the King Abdulaziz Equestrian Square, the competition brought together the Kingdom’s elite horses over a distance of 2,400 meters, vying for a total cash prize of SR2 million ($532,000).

Yemken, ridden by Silvestre de Sousa won the race for locally bred horses. 

In the Crown Prince Cup (Listed) event, Wootton’Sun took the glory under jockey Ricardo Sousa.

Prince Bandar bin Khalid, chairman of the Equestrian Authority and the JCSA, thanked the crown prince for his support of Saudi equestrianism. He highlighted the leadership’s commitment to developing horse racing as a sport of both national pride and global significance.

“The crown prince’s patronage is a tremendous honor for the equestrian community and reflects the leadership’s vision to elevate Saudi Arabia’s role in global horse racing,” he said.

He added that the Cups would serve as critical benchmarks for future competitions and reinforce the Kingdom’s position as a major player in the international horse racing arena.

Ziad Al-Mugrin, CEO of the JCSA, echoed those sentiments, emphasizing the transformative progress in Saudi horse racing enabled by the crown prince’s support.

He said the JCSA’s forward-looking strategy aimed to further solidify the Kingdom’s status as a hub for equestrian excellence.

Topics: Horse Racing Saudi Arabia Saudi Jockey Club

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