JEDDAH, 1 January 2006 — All eyes will be directed toward Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah tonight for a derby match between rivals Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad in the quarterfinals match of the Crown Prince Cup soccer tournament. All preparations started after the match last week when Ahli defeated Abha 4-0 and Ittihad beat Riyadh 1-0.
This is the first match between Ahli and Ittihad this season due to Ittihad’s participation in the FIFA World Club Championship in Japan. The last time both teams met was last year when Ittihad squeaked past Ahli 3-2.
Ahli has not defeated Ittihad since 2002, when they won 3-2 in an Arab Champions League match.
Ahli’s team captain Hussein Abdul Ghani may not play tonight due to injury. Ittihad will enter the match missing Brazilian star Chico whose contract has ended.
Ittihad fans are hoping that Hamza Idris will continue his habit of scoring against Ahli, while Ahli fans are hoping that team striker Talal Al-Meshal will lead his team to victory.
In Makkah, Wehda will face Nasr in a crucial showdown. Nasr advanced after beating Ittifaq 1-0 while Wehda outfought Al-Faisali 2-1.
Nasr was facing the difficult situation because two of their key players — Colman from Ghana and Jerry from Brazil — fell ill to food poisoning. However, both players left the hospital after treatment and they are expected to recover before the match.
