Six things we learned as Saudi Pro League pauses for international break

Six things we learned as Saudi Pro League pauses for international break
Helped by Aleksandar Mitrovic’s hot goalscoring streak, Al-Hilal are the only team in the Saudi Pro League with a 100 percent win record after six rounds. (SPL)
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Updated 08 October 2024
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Six things we learned as Saudi Pro League pauses for international break

Six things we learned as Saudi Pro League pauses for international break
  • Al-Hilal and Mitrovic dominant; Ronaldo and Mane in rich goalscoring form and Al-Ittihad are back

RIYADH: While this may be the second FIFA international break of the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League season, the first happened so soon into the new campaign that this feels like the first true pause for reflection on the opening action.

Here is what we have learned from the opening six matches.

Al-Hilal machine rolls on

It is often said the more things change the more they stay the same.

After a remarkable undefeated season in 2023-24 in which they swept all before them, champions Al-Hilal came into this campaign with a massive target on their back; the hope being that somehow this merciless machine would have slowed down after last season’s exertions.

Any notion of that, though, has been comprehensively dismissed after only six matches, with Jorge Jesus’ men the only club with a perfect 100 percent record through to this point. Quite conceivably, there is an incredible resilience and belief in Al-Hilal that the RSL has arguably never seen before.

It is not that they are completely impenetrable: the Riyadh side have conceded six goals thus far — more than Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab, Al-Qadsiah and Al-Taawoun — and kept only two clean sheets. But whether they score first, or fall behind, patently they have an unshakable trust in that they will always come back — see the 3-2, come-from-behind win against Damac in Matchweek 2.

While there is still so long to go this season, minds are already turning to whether Al-Hilal, unbeaten in an extraordinary 42 RSL matches, could do the seemingly impossible of going undefeated in back-to-back campaigns.

Former champions return to form

One of the biggest stories of the opening six matches has been the renaissance at 2022-23 RSL champions Al-Ittihad.

It was a title defence to forget for the Jeddah giants last time out, who finished fifth and well out of contention in the race for the league crown. After an off-season of soul searching and significant investment, World Cup winner Laurent Blanc was brought in as manager to replace Marcelo Gallardo.

To mark the new era, Al-Ittihad turned over the squad — heavily. The club introduced younger, more dynamic signings in the form of Moussa Diaby, Houssem Aouar, Steven Bergwijn and Mario Mitaj.

Most important, though, has been the return to form of captain and talisman Karim Benzema. After a mixed debut season in the RSL — nine goals in 21 appearances — the enduring Frenchman has found the net seven times in six top-flight matches this campaign. It means Benzema sits behind only Aleksandar Mitrovic (nine goals) in the scoring charts and has almost equalled his 2023-24 haul already.

Elsewhere, Al-Ittihad’s reemergence is also true for Al-Shabab as well, after they had a season to forget last time, at one point mired in the relegation battle before finishing strongly to come home eighth. That resurgence came after the arrival in February of Vitor Pereira; clearly, retaining the Portuguese manager is looking a hugely important piece of business.

With a sizeable turnover from last season, the new arrivals — among others, RSL legend Abderrazak Hamdallah, Serie A stalwart Giacomo Bonaventura, Dutch defender Wesley Hoedt and enterprising Portuguese winger Daniel Podence — are playing their part, too.

Heading into the two-week hiatus, Al-Shabab have four wins from six league outings, which sees the 2011-12 RSL champions occupy fourth. As such, they are only three points off second place.

Mixed bag for league new boys

Much was made in pre-season — and rightly so — of this being Al-Kholood’s first campaign in the RSL, but it has been a hardy welcome to the big time so far for the side from Ar Rass.

Despite a strong recruitment drive to prepare them for the challenge, Paulo Duarte’s team have struggled to make a mark, with a solitary win and four points to show from their opening six matches – even despite that gutsy, opening-round defeat to Al-Ittihad, a match in which they were desperately unlucky to lose.

However, back-to-back reverses in the past two matchweeks, to Al-Hilal and Al-Khaleej respectively, has caused Al-Kholood to drop into the relegation zone. Of course, they will hope to break free of the bottom three spots upon the league’s return.

In contrast, fellow new boys Al-Qadsiah and Al-Orobah have fared better, with the former perhaps always expected to given their considerable investment in the summer transfer window. In came the likes of recent Real Madrid captain Nacho; former Arsenal, Barcelona and Marseille striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; Belgium international goalkeeper Koen Casteels; highly sought-after Uruguayan midfielder Nahitan Nandez, and Mexican international forward champion Julian Quinones.

There was, also, much-coveted Argentine midfielder Ezequiel Fernandez and versatile Uruguayan defender Gaston Alvarez, alongside a host of talented Saudi Arabians, led by national-team defender Qassem Lajami.

That ambition propelled Al-Qadsiah to successive wins in the opening two matchweeks and, although they have been a little inconsistent since, they still sit sixth, with three victories, two defeats and a draw. Importantly, Aubameyang is off the mark in the RSL with the promise of more to come from the decorated striker.

For newly promoted Al-Orobah, meanwhile, they have seven points from six matches to lie mid-table — a decent return for Alvaro Pacheco’s side.

Mighty Mitrovic eyes Ronaldo’s record

When Cristiano Ronaldo broke the all-time, single-season goalscoring record last term (35 goals), few would have thought the tally would be under any threat anytime soon.

Yet Al-Hilal’s Serbian superstar, Aleksandar Mitrovic, has other ideas. The frontman, who finished second to Ronaldo in the race for the 2023-24 golden boot (28 goals), has begun the current campaign on fire, with nine goals from six matches. It could have even been 10, only for one of his goals against Al-Riyadh to be officially awarded by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s Referees Department as an own goal.

Still, you would imagine running at 1.5 goals per game is almost impossible to sustain across an entire season. However, with Al-Hilal showing no signs of slowing and scoring at a clip of three goals a match, Mitrovic will get more than his fair share of chances to chase down Ronaldo’s record.

Remember, his overall RSL haul stands at a mighty 37 goals in 34 appearances. Phenomenal.

Title-chasing Al-Ahli have work to do

The three-time Saudi champions were quiet achievers last season, largely out of the title race that unspooled between Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, but far enough ahead of the rest of the pack that their third place was never under serious threat.

Now boasting England international Ivan Toney, Matthias Jaissle’s side would have had ambitions of at least matching their 2023-24 flourish, achieved upon their first season back in the top flight, if not going better and joining in the title fight. But after the opening six rounds, the Jeddah club look some way off the side that performed so well last season. With three defeats thus far, they are already 11 points off the pace.

A home win against Al-Hilal would have been just the tonic before the international break, but despite taking the lead against the defending champions through Spanish talent Gabri Veiga, another second-half double from Mitrovic saw the away side depart with all three points.

It leaves Jaissle with plenty of questions to ponder over the international break, especially with Al-Ahli 10th in the standings. Although, with the likes of Veiga, Franck Kessie, Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Feras Al Buraikan and Toney in the team, there is no shortage of star power to get the club back up and running.

Ronaldo, Mane and Pioli lead Al-Nassr resurgence

By their own, incredibly lofty, standards, Al-Nassr deemed their start to the season — one win and three draws from four matches across all competitions — as insufficient and, thus, that a change of manager was required. So, with three RSL matchweeks in the books, Luis Castro was out, and Stefano Pioli was in.

The Italian, who guided AC Milan in 2021-22 to a first Serie A title in more than a decade, has proved an inspired appointment, with Al-Nassr reeling off five wins on the bounce. Three of those have come in the Saudi top flight, to the tune of eight goals scored and none conceded.

As usual, Ronaldo has been key, the Portuguese superstar taking his season’s tally to five goals in six RSL appearances. The club captain has been ably supported by Sadio Mane who, after a modest debut campaign in the Kingdom, has been a player reborn this term. Although the Senegal international opened his goal account only in Matchweek 6 with a brace against Al-Orobah, he has contributed five assists — second only to Al-Ittihad’s Diaby.

With Pioli in place, and Ronaldo and Mane firing, Al-Nassr have moved up to third in the table. It bodes well for when the RSL returns on Oct. 18. Could this finally be the capital club’s year?


Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup has received the highest-ever rating: FIFA

Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup has received the highest-ever rating: FIFA
Updated 30 November 2024
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Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup has received the highest-ever rating: FIFA

Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup has received the highest-ever rating: FIFA
  • Last October, a FIFA delegation arrived in the Kingdom to review the details of the bid and inspect the facilities to be used in the games
  • As stated in the bid, games will be played in 15 stadiums distributed across Riyadh, Jeddah, Alkhobar, Abha, and Neom, plus  ten other hosting sites 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup™ 2034 has received a rating of 419.8 out of 500, the highest technical rating ever given by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to a file submitted to host the event, the federation has said.

FIFA’s announcement came ahead of the federation’s general assembly on December 11 to decide which countries would host the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, the Saudi Press Agency reported early Saturday.

On July 29, a Saudi delegation led by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, minister of sport and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Yasser Al-Misehal, Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, officially submitted the Kingdom’s bid book to FIFA to host the FIFA World Cup 2034™ at a ceremony hosted in Paris, France. 

Last October, a FIFA delegation arrived in the Kingdom to review the details of the bid. As proposed, 48 teams will be participating at venues in one country for the first time in history. 

The delegation visited the cities proposed to host the tournament, inspected the sports projects and facilities included in the bid, and reviewed other upcoming preparations.

Commenting on the FIFA announcement, Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz said the unlimited attention, empowerment and support received from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, contributing to the bid gaining the confidence of the international community. 

SAFF President Yasser Al-Misehal stressed that “through the bid file, we are committed to providing an exceptional experience for all participants in the tournament, whether teams or participating delegations, and certainly for fans and football lovers around the world.” 

Hammad Al-Balawi, head of the Bid File Unit, said “the Kingdom’s bid file offers five host cities with diverse cultural and urban character that help fans and football lovers explore unique cultures and experiences in different regions of the Kingdom.”

In addition, he said, ten other hosting sites that “contribute to enhancing the experience of the participating teams through training camps and modern sports facilities, in addition to providing high accessibility between cities.” 

As stated in the Kingdom’s bid, games will be played in 15 stadiums distributed across Riyadh, Jeddah, Alkhobar, Abha, and Neom, in addition to the ten other hosting sites across the Kingdom. 
 


Saudi fighters shine as PFL MENA Championship delivers spectacular action in Riyadh

Saudi fighters shine as PFL MENA Championship delivers spectacular action in Riyadh
Updated 30 November 2024
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Saudi fighters shine as PFL MENA Championship delivers spectacular action in Riyadh

Saudi fighters shine as PFL MENA Championship delivers spectacular action in Riyadh
  • Hattan Alsaif, Abdullah Al-Qahtani wow the crowd on electrifying night

RIYADH: The Saudi duo of MMA fighters, Hattan Alsaif and Abdullah Al-Qahtani, shone at the PFL MENA Championship on an electrifying night in Riyadh.

The PFL (Professional Fighters League) delivered an evening of spectacular MMA action which showcased local and international talent while solidifying Saudi Arabia’s place on the global MMA stage.

The event featured a mix of thrilling showcase bouts and championship matches, leaving fans captivated by the high-level competition.

Costello van Steenis began the night with an impressive first-round knockout victory over Joao Dantas, landing a head kick at just 48 seconds. The win improved his career record to 16-3 and marked his fourth career knockout, maintaining his strong form of four victories in his last five fights.

Asael Adjoudj impressed in the featherweight division, securing a third-round guillotine choke submission against Jose Perez. The victory extended his remarkable winning streak to nine, bringing his career record to 9-1. Adjoudj remains undefeated since his professional debut loss, highlighting his rapid rise in the division.

Gabriel Braga bounced back from his PFL playoff semifinal loss with a unanimous decision win over Jeremy Kennedy. With his career record now at 15-2, Braga demonstrated resilience and technical skill, reaffirming his status as a top featherweight contender.

Slim Trabelsi continued his undefeated run with a hard-fought split-decision victory in a clash of unbeaten heavyweights against Englishman Abraham Bably. Utilizing his powerful striking and determination, Trabelsi improved his record to 8-0, showcasing his potential to rise further in the division.

On the Saudi front, Hattan Alsaif delivered a highlight-reel moment with a stunning knockout win over Lilia Osmani, further establishing herself as a fighter to watch.

Hattan Alsaif delivered a highlight-reel moment with a stunning knockout win over Lilia Osmani. (AN Photo/Loai Elkelawy)

The night’s crowning achievements came with two championship bouts. Abdullah Al-Qahtani secured the PFL MENA Featherweight Championship in front of his hometown crowd with a dominant first-round TKO against Marouane Bellagouit. The 26-year-old Riyadh native improved his record to 10-2, adding his fourth career knockout and earning his place as a hometown hero.

Egypt’s Omar El Dafrawy claimed the PFL MENA Welterweight Championship with a second-round TKO over Mohammad Alaqraa. The victory not only extended El Dafrawy’s winning streak to seven but also avenged a previous loss to Alaqraa. Now boasting a 13-6 record with eight knockouts, El Dafrawy demonstrated his growth and determination, cementing his status as a dominant force in the division.

The PFL MENA Championship in Riyadh was a landmark event for MMA in Saudi Arabia, showcasing the region’s growing talent and passion for the sport. With electrifying performances and enthusiastic support from local fans, the event marked another milestone in Saudi Arabia’s journey as a key player in the global MMA landscape.


Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund takes a stake in Audi’s future F1 team

The deal was announced deal announced at the Qatar Grand Prix which takes place this weekend. (AFP)
The deal was announced deal announced at the Qatar Grand Prix which takes place this weekend. (AFP)
Updated 29 November 2024
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Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund takes a stake in Audi’s future F1 team

The deal was announced deal announced at the Qatar Grand Prix which takes place this weekend. (AFP)
  • the Qatar Investment Authority will be “a long-term investor and partner” in the Audi F1 team

LUSAIL, Qatar: The sovereign wealth fund of Qatar is acquiring a “significant minority stake” in what will become Audi’s works Formula 1 team from 2026, in a deal announced Friday at the Qatar Grand Prix.
A joint statement said the Qatar Investment Authority will be “a long-term investor and partner” and provide “a substantial capital injection” that will help the team expand its infrastructure.
The team is currently competing as Sauber and will be rebranded as the Audi works outfit for 2026 after it reached agreement for a full takeover earlier this year.
“This additional capital will accelerate the team’s growth and is yet another milestone on our long-term strategy,” Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner said in the joint statement.
Qatar is already an investor in the Volkswagen Group, of which Audi is a part.
“QIA believes that Formula 1 is a sport with significant untapped investment potential,” QIA chief executive Mohammed Saif Al-Sowaidi said.
“The increasing commercialization of professional sports as an entertainment offering globally, and the increasingly global popularity of Formula 1, has made for an exciting opportunity for our first major motorsports investment.”
Sauber is changing both of its drivers for 2025, when Nico Hülkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto arrive to replace Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
It is the only team yet to score a point this season. Bottas placed 13th and Zhou 19th in Friday’s qualifying for the Saturday sprint race, which was the first competitive session since the agreement was announced.


GT World Challenge title to go down to the wire in Jeddah finale

GT World Challenge title to go down to the wire in Jeddah finale
Updated 29 November 2024
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GT World Challenge title to go down to the wire in Jeddah finale

GT World Challenge title to go down to the wire in Jeddah finale
  • The 6 Hours of Jeddah race marks the final race of the GTWC season with Mercedes, Porsche and Ferrari battling it out for the title

JEDDAH: Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed topped Friday’s Free Practice in the GT World Challenge finale at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with Jules Gounon leading the way in a two-hour session that began in daylight and ended with the sun setting over the Red Sea. 

The 6 Hours of Jeddah race marks the final race of the GTWC season with Mercedes, Porsche and Ferrari battling it out for the title.

Gounon was the first driver to break the two-minute barrier, posting a 1m 59.839s at the halfway mark. He subsequently shaved a further three hundredths of this to end Free Practice with a 1m 59.804s. 

Matteo Cairoli came within touching distance of Gounon’s benchmark with a 1m 59.894s during the final 30 minutes. In doing so, the Iron Lynx Lamborghini jumped ahead of Maro Engel, whose time of 2m 00.093s demonstrated that the Mercedes Team Mann-Filter entry is fully up to speed following its testing accident on Thursday.

Gold Cup title favorite Sainteloc Racing placed fourth overall with Gilles Magnus at the wheel of the Audi. The Rutronik Racing Porsche continued the strong pace it demonstrated on Thursday by placing fifth overall and leading the Bronze Cup thanks to Loek Hartog.

The Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG was sixth, followed by the title-chasing AF Corse Francorchamps Motors Ferrari.

Sainteloc Racing also paced the Silver Cup with its #26 Audi. Kobe Pauwels posted a 2m 00.494s to place 19th overall. A total of 47 cars were on-track during Free Practice following the withdrawal of the Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin, which crashed during Thursday’s Bronze Test. 

In contrast with Thursday’s sessions, Free Practice brought almost no on-track incidents. A number of cars brushed the wall as they tested the limits of the high-speed Jeddah circuit, but there were no stoppages during the two-hour run.

However, there was more bad news for the Walkenhorst squad, which suffered a serious fire in one of its Aston Martins. No one was harmed in the incident, though the car’s continued participation in the event is unclear.  


Norris boosts McLaren title hopes with sprint pole

Norris boosts McLaren title hopes with sprint pole
Updated 29 November 2024
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Norris boosts McLaren title hopes with sprint pole

Norris boosts McLaren title hopes with sprint pole
  • Norris clocked a best time in one minute and 21.012 seconds to outpace Russell, the winner in Nevada, by just 0.063 seconds at the end of a closely-fought session
  • Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren was third

DOHA: Lando Norris lifted the spirits of his title-chasing McLaren team on Friday when he powered to pole position ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix.
After a disappointing outing in Las Vegas, where his drivers’ title hopes ended as Max Verstappen clinched his fourth championship with Red Bull, the British driver was back on top form under the lights at the Lusail International Circuit.
Norris clocked a best time in one minute and 21.012 seconds to outpace Russell, the winner in Nevada, by just 0.063 seconds at the end of a closely-fought session. Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren was third.
“It’s tough,” said Norris of his laps and the speed of the track.
“It is so quick around here. It feels like the quickest of the year and in the final sector you feel like you are just hanging on.
“I want to win and I want to win every session as a driver. Our target tomorrow is a one-two so we maximize the points for our constructors’ but we know Mercedes and Ferrari will be quick.”
The Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc qualified fourth and fifth ahead of Verstappen and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes, an outcome that was not enough to buoy hopes that the Italian team can stop McLaren claiming their first constructors’ title in 26 years.
Pierre Gasly took an impressive eighth for Alpine ahead of Nico Hulkenberg of Haas and RB’s Liam Lawson.
McLaren hold a 24 points lead in the teams’ title race with 608 to Ferrari on 584.
With two Grands Prix remaining, including one sprint, McLaren can clinch the title with a dominant weekend ahead of Ferrari in both the sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
In cooling conditions with temperatures of 19 (air) and 22 (track) falling as darkness descended, Kevin Magnussen set the early benchmark time for Haas in 1:23.750 before the ‘big boys’ joined the fray, Sainz soon going top.
Norris then gave notice of his intentions with a lap in 1:22.785, but it was not enough as speeds increased with the drop in temperature and Ferrari took advantage with Leclerc and Sainz on top.
With three minutes remaining in SQ1, Norris bounced back in 1:22.021, a time Russell equalled exactly with the same lap time. Piastri, last year’s winner, went fourth, six-tenths off his team-mate’s best time.
Norris trimmed his time to 1:21.356 in the final seconds to finish four-tenths clear of Sainz, six-tenths ahead of Russell and Verstappen with Hamilton fifth.
But it was another painful session for Sergio Perez of Red Bull who exited in Q1 along with RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu of Sauber and Williams’ Franco Colapinto.
As prescribed, all of the cars ran on medium compound tires and nearly all of them were under investigation by the stewards for driving too slowly, at times, in SQ1 as they ‘backed up’ to seek a ‘tow’.
The SQ2 segment began with Verstappen on top before Leclerc took over in 1:22.130 and then Piastri in 1:22.050, the leading teams all very clothed matched.
With two minutes to go, Norris was back in control in 1:22.231 ahead of Russell and Piastri with Verstappen fourth until Hamilton knocked him down to fifth ahead of the two Ferraris.
Out this time went two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Williams’ Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas of Sauber, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and Magnussen.
The top ten shootout began with Leclerc in a hurry to clock 1:21.706, as they all switched to softs, Norris lapping in 1:21.012 for top spot with Piastri a tenth down in second. McLaren looked imperious.