JEDDAH: City rivals Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad are to face off in a tough Group B that includes Al-Watani following a draw that took place early this week for the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Cup football tournament.
Another marquee team, Al-Hilal, fell in a relatively easy group with Al-Raid and Al-Hazem in Group A.
In Group C are Al-Shabab, Al-Wehda and Al-Najran. This grouping is expected to be a breeze for Shabab. Al-Ittifaq, Al-Nasr and Abha are the Group D teams.
All players taking part are under the age of 23. The teams are allowed to have only four players from the first team and the tournament is scheduled to start Dec. 20 which will coincide with the start of the Saudi national team training for the Gulf Cup Championship.
Group B is considered the most difficult to call if only because Ahli and Ittihad would kill each other for the lone semifinal spot from the group. As only one team from each group will qualify for the semifinals the level of competition is expected to be higher than usual. Ahli has more luck with young talented players given that most of them had been playing in the Olympic team but never given the chance to play in the first team.
Hilal is likely to qualify from Group A. Group D is a toss-up between Nasr and Ittifaq with Shabab fancied to punch the qualifying ticket of Group C.
