Roberto Mancini turns to fresh faces as Saudi Arabia step up Asian Cup preparations

13.10.2023 - 08:37 thenationalnews.com

With the summer of unprecedented spending out of the way and the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League season in full flow, Saudi Arabia was back in global headlines again over the past few days.

Fifa, football's world governing body, have awarded the 2030 World Cup to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with games also taking place in the South American countries of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to mark the tournament’s centenary year.

The decision, coupled with confirmation that the following tournament in 2034 is set to take place in either Asia or Oceania, brought the kingdom a step closer to fulfilling its dream of following on the footsteps of Qatar and hosting football’s premier international football competition.

The Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) claims it has the backing of over 70 countries, and also has the backing of the Asian Football Confederation.

Football FIFA country UPS cup as Roberto Mancini Qatar Spain Portugal Italy Usa Argentina Morocco Mali Saudi Arabia Nigeria Uruguay South Korea Costa Rica Paraguay

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Karim Benzema scores both goals as Al-Ittihad and Al-Taawoun share spoils in SPL clash

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Karim Benzema faces backlash in France over statement of solidarity with people of Gaza

BEIRUT: Karim Benzema, the French footballer who currently plays for Saudi club Al-Ittihad, is facing a backlash from officials in his home country after he expressed solidarity with the people of Gaza and said they were being subjected to unjust bombing. In a message posted on social media site X on Sunday, the current FIFA Ballon D’or holder wrote: “All our prayers for the inhabitants of Gaza who are once again victims of these unjust bombings which spare no women or children.” The post has garnered more than 558,000 likes, 180,000 retweets and 60,000 comments.

All-woman F1 Academy series to race in Saudi Arabia to start an expanded 2024 schedule

LONDON: Formula One’s F1 Academy series for female drivers will race next year in Saudi Arabia to start an expanded schedule with a more prominent role in grand prix weekends.

Saudi Arabia mauled by Mali despite Al-Dawsari magic

RIYADH: Salem Al-Dawsari more than matched his spectacular World Cup strike against Argentina against Mali on Tuesday but could not prevent Saudi Arabia losing 3-1 to the Africans in Portugal.

Pakistan advance in World Cup qualifying as Hamid downs Cambodia

MACAU : Pakistan qualified for the second round of Asia's World Cup 2026 preliminaries for the first time on Tuesday as a 1-0 win over Cambodia took the Stephen Constantine-coached side into the next phase.