DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s top referee Fahad Al-Mirdasi credited mentoring by former Saudi officials after being named on FIFA’s 36-man list for the World Cup in Russia.
The 32-year-old is one of three Saudi match officials selected for next summer’s tournament, alongside assistant referees Abdullah Al-Shalawi and Mohammed Al-Abkari who made the list of 63 assistant referees released by FIFA on Thursday.
Speaking to Saudi Arabian sports radio station UFM, Al-Mirdasi said the decision to select him alongside his two colleagues was a feather in the cap for the Kingdom.
“This is a proof that Saudi sport is doing well,” said Al-Mirdasi, who officiated at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. “It is the first time that we have three Saudi match officials at the World Cup. Saudi referees have always done well abroad, and we are proud to represent the Kingdom at the biggest sporting event in the world.
“I am in constant communication with former World Cup referees from Saudi, and their experience helps me a lot. I train for two hours every day and I run 16 kilometers daily.”
Al-Mirdasi will become the fourth Saudi referee to officiate at the World Cup, following in the footsteps of Falaj Al-Shannar who was selected to referee the 1986 World Cup match between Italy and Bulgaria, becoming the first Saudi referee in the competition’s history.
Saudi referees returned to the global stage 12 years later, with Abdulrahman Al-Zeid taking charge of two games at the 1998 World Cup in France. Al-Zeid was also the fourth official at that year’s final between Brazil and hosts France.
Another 12 years passed before a Saudi referee appeared at the final again, Khalil Jalal officiating two group-stage matches at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Having previously taken charge of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup quarterfinal as well as matches in the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2017 FIFA Confederation Cup, Al-Mirdasi is one of Asia’s most experienced referees.
“I expected to be at the World Cup as I have already refereed in key Asian and international competitions, and I know that FIFA always look at the quality of referees and their previous performances, so I knew they would be fair in their selection,” he said.
Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) President Adel Ezzat congratulated the three officials, adding that their selection was a testament to their capabilities and to the quality of Saudi referees.
“The three officials won FIFA’s trust after officiating at the highest levels of continental and international football,” said Ezzat in a statement published on the SAFF Twitter account. “It is a reward for them to be at the greatest of all football competitions. They deserve congratulations as they have earned their places among the elite of the refereeing world. To have three match officials at the World Cup is a great motivation for us at the SAFF to enhance our work in developing Saudi referees. I wish them success in Russia and we will be looking forward for them to do us proud.”
The 99-man match officials list for this summer’s World Cup includes five Arab referees: Bahrain’s Nawaf Shukralla, UAE’s Mohamed Abdulla, Egypt’s Gehad Grisha and Algeria’s Mehdi Abid, in addition to Al-Mirdasi. There were also nine Arab assistant referees representing Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
Elsewhere in the list, there will be no British match officials at the World Cup for the first time since 1938 after current head of refereeing at the SAFF, Mark Clattenburg, forfeited his place in FIFA’s longlist which was published in 2016. Clattenburg was the only British referee on the list.
Three Saudi Arabia officials selected by FIFA for World Cup
Three Saudi Arabia officials selected by FIFA for World Cup
Ruben Amorim has declared his mission for Man United
“We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games”
MANCHESTER, England: Ruben Amorim has told Manchester United fans he will do everything to bring the good times back to the 20-time English champion.
United’s new coach has been charged with ending more than a decade of decline at Old Trafford since former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and their Premier League dominance fizzled out.
Amorim — hired from Sporting Lisbon this month — is embracing the challenge and said on Friday, “I will try to do everything to put this club in the place that it belongs. And I believe a lot that we are going to succeed.”
The 39-year-old Portuguese is the sixth permanent manager/coach since Ferguson retired after winning his 13th league title.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag all failed to return United to the summit of English and European soccer in a period when Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have dominated domestically.
It is unlikely Amorim will change that after coming in partway through a season in which United made their worst league start since 1986.
“We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games,” Amorim told United’s in-house channel. “But the most important thing for me is identity. So, since day one we will start with our identity.”
Asked what could be expected from his team in the first weeks of his reign, he added: “I want to say beautiful things to you, but I’m really honest. But what I can say is that I think you will see an idea.”
Green Falcons arrive in Jakarta for World Cup Asian qualifier against Indonesia
- Saudi national football team to hold closed training session before facing hosts on Nov. 19
JAKARTA: The Saudi national football team will train behind closed doors in Jakarta on Saturday in preparation for their 2026 World Cup Asian qualifier match against Indonesia next Tuesday.
The Green Falcons arrived in the Indonesian capital on Friday and are scheduled to face off against the hosts on Nov. 19 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, as part of the sixth round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The national team delegation was welcomed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport by the Saudi Ambassador Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Amoudi.
Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation, expressed his appreciation to the embassy for the warm reception and the facilities provided to the team following their arrival from Melbourne.
The Green Falcons will hold a closed training session on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Gelora Jakarta Stadium.
5 things we learned from the latest action-packed 2026 World Cup 3rd-round qualifiers
1. Saudi Arabia leave Australia frustrated but facing in the right direction
Following the 0-0 draw with the Socceroos in Melbourne, Saudi striker Saleh Al-Shehri summed it up as: “We wanted to win, but a draw is not a bad result.”
The frustration was due to a disallowed goal. Had Sultan Al-Ghannam’s injury-time strike not been ruled out due to the tightest of offsides, this would have been one of the Green Falcons’ most famous qualification victories ever. It would have put them in the driving seat for second place, the only automatic qualifying spot remaining with Japan out in front.
Overall, however, there was much about which to be satisfied. While this was a love-to-win game, it was not a must-win — just a must-not-lose. It means, all things being equal, that a win over the Socceroos at home in 2025 will be enough.
After the first four Group C games, this felt like an oil tanker turning around. The Green Falcons may now be flying in the right direction.
2. Renard offers hope and second chances
It is not about who is the better coach — Herve Renard or Roberto Mancini — but about who is the best fit for Saudi Arabia.
The answer is, without question, Renard. The Frenchman has recalled players like Yasser Al-Shahrani, who was ditched by the Italian, and the decision was vindicated by the full-back’s performance.
Returning to four at the back, after the majority of Mancini’s games saw three, seemed to be welcomed by the players. They looked more comfortable from the beginning, with an impressive first half, and when the hosts took control after the break Renard was ready to make changes — helped by the excellent Saud Abdulhamid.
Given the injury to Salem Al-Dawsari, the team’s greatest offensive threat, the lack of creativity was no surprise. Scoring goals is a problem — taking just three from five games is a worry — and that has to change against Indonesia next week. If it does, the situation will look much better.
3. Bahrain will regret blowing their chance
There was plenty of drama all around Asia on Thursday and Riffa had more than its fair share as China beat Bahrain 1-0.
After Saudi Arabia and Australia drew earlier in the day to move onto six points, Bahrain had a chance to go two points clear and take control of the second automatic qualifying slot. Playing China at home was a perfect opportunity. Just imagine — if the Reds have won that and then beaten Australia next week, the Socceroos would have probably been out of the running.
That seemed to be the case in the 87th minute. Ali Haram stretched for a ball from deep and then scored an opportunistic goal, but it was ruled offside by a similar margin to that of Saudi Arabia’s. The defense fell asleep in injury time and then Zhang Yuning shot home.
It means that China are now level with Australia and Saudi Arabia, and suddenly there are four teams in the hunt for second place. For Bahrain, it could be a setback from which they do not recover.
4. Ali and Suhail the heroes for the UAE and Qatar
Over in Group A, the UAE beat Kyrgyzstan 3-0 while Qatar had a more difficult game as they defeated Uzbekistan 3-2. Both needed the victory.
A victory by Iran moved them clear in the top spot, meaning Uzbekistan, Qatar and the UAE are all chasing second. Qatar looked to be strolling to victory thanks to two goals from Almoez Ali, but then young forward Abbosbek Fayzullaev scored twice in five minutes for the opposition.
A draw looked imminent as play entered the 112th minute, but a last-gasp goal from Lucas Mendes sent the home fans wild.
The UAE had a much easier ride, with Hareb Abdalla bagging a brace as the Whites made short work of their Central Asian opposition. It means there is much riding on Tuesday’s clash between the two West Asian rivals in Al-Ain, and whoever loses may be out of the running for automatic qualification. It should be quite the occasion.
5. Oman make Group B a three-way clash
South Korea won 3-1 in Kuwait to move five points clear at the top of the group and there is little doubt the Taeguk Warriors will automatically qualify.
Yet something interesting is happening below them. It really looked as if the battle for second would be between Jordan and Iraq but these two teams played out a 0-0 draw in Basra to leave the 65,000 passionate home fans a little disappointed. Now both are on eight points.
Iraq were predictable and a bit too reliant on in-form forward Aymen Hussein, while Jordan will be the most satisfied of the two with the away draw.
Happier still are Oman, who beat Palestine 1-0 to collect a second successive win that moved them on to six points, just two behind the second and third spots. It means Palestine and Kuwait have a lot to do just to try and finish fourth.
Oman have their sights set on a bigger prize. A win against Iraq in Muscat on Tuesday really would really put the cat among the Group B pigeons.
Saudi Arabia fight back to stun Germany in NEOM Beach Soccer Cup 2024
NEOM: Hosts Saudi Arabia threw off their opening day defeat against England with a 7-6 win over Germany in the second day of action at the NEOM Beach Soccer Cup 2024.
Spurred on by the support of their fans at Gayal Beach, the national beach soccer team took to the sand on Thursday night.
Al-Hamami and Qasem gave Saudi Arabia a 2-0 lead in the first period and the hosts added two more goals to their tally in the second, Salman and Waleed both finding the net. Germany then closed the gap as Peterson scored a brace.
There was even more action in the third period, as four goals from Germany and two from the home side took the match into extra time at 6-6.
It was left to Waleed to score the winner and reward Saudi Arabia with two points on the board following their first win in this year’s competition.
Also in Group A, after securing a first-day victory against Germany, the UAE struck three times in the first 12 minutes against England with goals from Ali, Kamal and Mousab.
England responded well, finding the back of the net three times in the space of two minutes during the second period courtesy of a Robinson brace and one from Lawson. Despite the setback, A. Abbas restored the advantage for his team before the period ended.
Both teams were on target twice in the third and final period, A. Abbas scoring his second and goalkeeper Bahri hitting the target for the UAE. Lawson got his second for England, with Younie also striking home. But it was not enough, and the UAE clinched their second victory of the tournament to put them on maximum points.
The second Group B match of the day saw a repeat of the NEOM Beach Soccer Cup 2023 final as defending champions Brazil took on Japan.
The scores were even at 2-2 by the end of the first period, as Antonio scored two for Brazil, and Oba and Akaguma found the net for Japan. The teams were tied in the second phase of play too, Benjamin Jr. and Oba scoring within six seconds of each other.
Brazil secured victory in the third and final period with a brace from Edson Hulk and a goal from Datinha, although they conceded goals from Akaguma and Oba.
Eight teams are taking place in the men’s tournament during this third edition of the cup. Group A is made up of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, England and Germany, with Brazil, Spain, Japan and China in Group B.
In the women’s competition, defending champions Spain, 2022 participants England and Ukraine, and 2022 champions Brazil will take to the sand.
Tamam team defeats Casa Riyadh in Silver Cup tournament
RIYADH: The Tamam Polo Team claimed victory over rivals Casa Riyadh on Thursday, beating them 5-4 in the Silver Cup Championship.
Taking place at Nofa Equestrian Resort in Riyadh, this is the third edition of the tournament, which continues until Nov. 16.
The Tamam team included Hashem Al-Alawi, Abdulmohsen Al-Hokair, Faisal Abu Nayan and Marcelo Antonio. Representing Casa Riyadh were Prince Salman bin Sultan, Ibrahim Al-Harbi, Salman bin Haif and Muhammed Naveed.
The Silver Cup is the first tournament of the season, played in a points system where the team with the most goals wins in the event of a tie.
Friday will see Casa Riyadh face Tuwaiq in the second round.
