DUBAI: Saudi Arabia coach Juan Antonio Pizzi has insisted his players are capable of taming Egypt superstar Mohamed Salah when the two sides do battle at the World Cup.
Salah has enjoyed a remarkable debut season at Liverpool, with his 43 goals in 49 games for the Reds leading to him being named the PFA Footballer of the Year last week.
The forward has continually delivered in big matches, netting 11 times in the Champions League to fire Liverpool into this month’s final against Real Madrid.
Salah has also excelled with Egypt, finishing as top scorer in World Cup qualifying and famously keeping his cool to slot the 94th-minute penalty against Congo that secured the Pharaohs spot in Russia.
Against Portugal in March, Salah’s strike looked to have secured an impressive friendly victory until Cristiano Ronaldo struck two stoppage time goals to steal away victory.
Those performances have led to heightened expectations in Egypt ahead of the World Cup, with fans hoping that Salah can continue his talismanic form in Russia and help his nation escape from Group A.
But despite recognizing Salah’s danger, Saudi coach Pizzi believes that his team can keep the 25-year-old at bay when they face off in the final group stage match in Volgograd on June 25.
“Mohamed Salah is a very, very talented, player,” Pizzi told Arab News at the AFC Asian Cup draw in Dubai. “His level at the moment is extremely high and he is certainly one of the best players in the world right now, if not the top on his current form. But of course we believe in our players. We have some fantastic defenders and we have confidence in our team, in the skills of our players. There will be no special plans for Salah but for sure we have the players who can stop him. We expect a good performance against Egypt; we expect a good performance in all of our group games.”
Keeping Salah quiet will be an uphill task for a Saudi defense that conceded four against world-class opposition in its last friendly outing. Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Belgium put the Green Falcons to the sword with a 4-0 victory.
Pizzi’s side also shipped four goals in a 4-1 defeat to Iraq in February but there are still five friendly matches to play — against Algeria, Greece, Italy, Peru and Germany — before the World Cup, with defensive solidity imperative if Saudi Arabia are to reach the last-16.
Before they face Salah’s Egypt in their final World Cup group game, the Green Falcons take on Uruguay and, first, hosts Russia in the tournament’s curtain raiser on June 14.
And while Pizzi has analyzed all of Saudi Arabia’s group opponents carefully, the Argentine insisted is not looking further than that opening clash with Russia in Moscow.
“Our plan is working very well for the World Cup,” Pizzi said. “All of the training camps have gone very well and the players understand very well what we are trying to do. Our focus is totally on the first game against Russia. The players are working very hard toward that match.”
‘Saudi Arabia have the players to stop Mohamed Salah,’ says Green Falcons coach
‘Saudi Arabia have the players to stop Mohamed Salah,’ says Green Falcons coach
- Saudi meet Egypt in Russia on June 25
- Coach Pizzi believes his defenders can shackle the prolific forward
A penalty shattered Palestinian World Cup dreams for 2026. The squad has inspired hope
- The Palestinian team needed to win its last three Group B games in Asian qualifying to advance to another continental playoff round
AMMAN: An engrossing qualifying journey of 16 games and the obstacles of a war came crashing down in an instant for Oday Dabbagh and his Palestinian team.
Their legacy will long continue.
Players left the field in tears in the immediate aftermath at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan, last Thursday after their quest for a first appearance at a World Cup evaporated on a contentious penalty awarded deep in extra time. Fans looked on, stunned.
“It’s very hard,” Dabbagh, the team’s star striker, told The Associated Press. “It was massive for us to get to the next stage — we prepared well, we had a positive atmosphere, and we had the fans with us. We gave everything, but it was gone in a moment.”
Needing to win its last three Group B games to reach the playoffs for the last two of Asia’s automatic spots at the World Cup, the No. 101-ranked team in the world beat Iraq in Basra in March, Kuwait in Kuwait City on June 5. Five days later, it was leading 1-0 against Oman in Jordan in the 97th minute.
The Palestinians had never been in a better position in qualifying for a World Cup. Then Oman was awarded, and scored, a penalty to make it 1-1 in the last real act of the game.
Not long after the dejected players had picked themselves up, the Palestine Football Association (PFA) made an official complaint to soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, about the penalty. It didn’t change the fact, however, that the long road trip was over.
“We tried to put smiles on the faces of Palestinians amid their great pain,” head coach Ihab Abujazar said. “The heroic players are our pride and glory, a symbol of all that is beautiful in the Palestinian nation.”
Playing Away
It may have been different if the Palestinian team, admitted into FIFA in 1998, was able to play home games in front of its fans in Gaza or the West Bank in the third round of qualifying. The Israel-Hamas war meant that couldn’t happen. And so the many of the team’s home games have been taking place in the nearby Jordanian capital of Amman, home to a large community of Palestinians.
“It is easier to play in your home,” Dabbagh, who helped Aberdeen win the Scottish Cup last month, said. “But the circumstances there are so difficult so we choose to play in Amman as it is close to Palestine, the people are the same, and we have a lot of fans there.”
There’s been no domestic soccer in the Palestinian territories since the war started in 2023. Hundreds of athletes are among the more than 55,000 Palestinians killed in the conflict and sports facilities have been destroyed.
“Everything that goes on makes us all sad,” Dabbagh said. “As players, we try to focus on football during the games, but we use what is happening as motivation to bring happiness to the people of Palestine.”
All but two of the roster of 27 national squad players are contracted to foreign clubs either in the region or in Europe, a change from the start of the conflict when a number of players weren’t able to leave the West Bank or Gaza to report for international duty.
Over the past year or so, the Palestinian squad has assembled for training camps in Algeria, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to prepare for World Cup qualifying.
The top two teams in each of three Asian groups in the third round earned direct spots for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The third- and fourth-place teams in each group advanced to a playoff for two more places. A win would have secured fourth spot in the group for the Palestinians. The last-minute draw meant they finished a point behind Oman in fifth.
What’s next?
Now their focus has to shift to the 2027 Asian Cup, which will take place in Saudi Arabia. The Palestinian team has already qualified for the tournament.
Dabbagh is ready to show that the team is set to remain a force in Asian soccer and continue to be ambassodors for millions of people.
“We will keep using football as a message to show the world that there are other things in Palestine” he said. “We will keep going. The dream is not over, it is just delayed.”
Kubica wins ‘mental battle’ to triumph at Le Mans
- In a thrilling 93rd edition of the race, which saw the top four separated by just over 20 seconds going into the final 15 minutes, Kubica and his AF Corse co-drivers Philip Hanson and Ye Yifei (#83) finished just 14.084sec ahead of Porsche
- Kubica was one of Formula One’s brightest prospects when he won the 2008 Canada Grand Prix but a harrowing accident in a rally in Andorra in 2011 almost cost him his life
LE MANS: Former Formula One driver Robert Kubica has long since tackled the demons of a near-fatal accident 14 years ago but Sunday’s victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is arguably his greatest achievement yet.
The 40-year-old Pole roared to victory in his bright yellow “privateer” Ferrari to give the Italian marque a third consecutive win in the most famous endurance race in the world.
In a thrilling 93rd edition of the race, which saw the top four separated by just over 20 seconds going into the final 15 minutes, Kubica and his AF Corse co-drivers Philip Hanson and Ye Yifei (#83) finished just 14.084sec ahead of a Porsche (#6) driven by Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor.
In so doing they knocked the two factory Ferraris, who started the race as favorites, into third and fourth.
“It’s been a long 24 hours but an enjoyable one. Grazie mille, grazie a tutti,” said Kubica over the team radio as he took the chequered flag.
Kubica was one of Formula One’s brightest prospects when he won the 2008 Canada Grand Prix but a harrowing accident in a rally in Andorra in 2011 almost cost him his life.
Trapped upside down in his car before being freed and whisked to hospital, Kubica suffered several serious injuries and underwent a partial amputation of his right forearm.
“What happened was very unfortunate, but I was very lucky,” he said after Sunday’s victory.
“It took me quite a few years, not only to recover physically but also mentally.
“What happened happened and I have to accept it. One of the worst periods of my life was when my mind wouldn’t accept the fact that my arm was failing.”
He returned to racing cars, however, winning the WRC2 championship and taking part in sports car races. In 2017 he moved back into Formula One, testing for Renault before racing for Williams in 2019.
But Sunday’s win which made him the first Pole ever to win Le Mans tops any of his other achievements behind the wheel.
“It was quite difficult to live with, but I’m happy to have achieved my personal goals,” he said.
“The best thing I’ve achieved in my life — it’s nothing to do with racing — it’s more the battle I won with my mind.”
Both of Kubica’s co-drivers were also first-time winners with Ye the first Chinese driver to triumph.
“I’m at a loss for words,” said Ye who arrived in Le Mans at the age of 14 on an exchange program to try and become a professional driver.
“It’s going to take me some time to realize everything that’s happened today. Right now I feel like I’m dreaming. Maybe in two seconds I’ll wake up and none of this will exist.
“In China, the car industry has come a long way. When my father was my age, there were no cars on the roads, and we’re talking about the 1990s. Becoming a professional driver was impossible.”
With three of the top four, it was certainly a good day for Ferrari but there will undoubtedly be some at headquarters in Maranello who might not be so happy.
As the winning car was not entered directly by the manufacturer, but by the AF Corse team, Ferrari will not take the points for victory in the World Endurance Championship.
Cadillac locked out the front row of the grid but #12 of Will Stephens, who had taken pole, had to settle for fifth with the second car (#38), featuring former Formula One world champion Jensen Button, coming home in eighth.
J.J. Spaun weathers the worst of wet Oakmont to win US Open
- “I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun, who finished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania: J.J. Spaun turned a sloppy mess of a US Open at wet and nasty Oakmont into a thing of beauty at the end Sunday with two stunning shots that carried him to his first major championship.
First came his driver on the 314-yard 17th hole onto the green for a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished his storybook Open by holing the longest putt all week at Oakmont for birdie and a 2-over 72.
That made him the only player to finish under par at 1-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntire of Scotland.
And it made Spaun, the 36-year-old Californian who resembles the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a major champion in only his second US Open.
“I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun, who finished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career. “I always had aspirations and dreams. I never knew what my ceiling was. I’m just trying to be the best golfer I can be.”
It was calamity for so many others.
Sam Burns had a two-shot lead going to the 11th tee, made a double bogey from a divot in the first cut and from a lie in the fairway so wet he thought he deserved relief. He shot 78.
Adam Scott, trying to become the first player to go more than 11 years between major titles, was tied for the lead with five holes to play. One of the best drivers could no longer find the fairway. He played them in 5 over and shot 79.
“I missed the fairway. I hadn’t done that all week really. Then I did, and I paid the price and lost a lot of shots out there,” Scott said.
Carlos Ortiz and Tyrrell Hatton also slashed away in slushy lies, all making mistakes that cost them a chance to survive this beast of day.
The rain that put Oakmont on the edge of being unplayable might have saved Spaun.
One shot behind at the start of the day, he opened with five bogeys in six holes with some horrific breaks, none worse than hitting the pin on the second hole and seeing it spin back to the fairway. And then came a rain delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes.
“The weather delay changed the whole vibe of the day,” Spaun said.
Remarkably, he made only one bogey the rest of the way.
But oh, that finish.
MacIntyre, the 28-year-old from Oban toughened by the Scottish game of Shinty, became the new target. He also struggled at the start and fell nine shots behind at one point. But he birdied the 17th and split the fairway on the 18th for a key par, a 68 and the clubhouse lead.
Three groups later, Spaun delivered what looked like the winner, a powerful fade that rolled onto the green like a putt and settled 18 feet behind the cup.
And then the final putt — no one made a longer one all week. He was helped by Viktor Hovland being on the same line and going first. Spaun rapped it through the soaked turf, walked to the left to watch it break right toward the hole and watched it dropped as thousands of rain-soaked spectators erupted.
He raised both arms and tossed his putter, jumping into the arms of caddie Mark Carens.
The celebration carried into those who lost the battle.
MacIntyre, so close to becoming Scotland’s first major champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999, sat in scoring in front of a TV and applauded.
Hatton was talking with reporters, bemoaning a bad break on the 17th ended his chances of winning. He watched the Spaun’s putt and it brightened his mood.
“Unbelievable. What a putt to win. That’s incredible,” he said. “I’m sad about how I finished, but I’m very happy for J.J. To win a major in that fashion is amazing.”
Hovland, who shot 73 to finish third, saw it all — the putt at the end, the bogeys at the start.
“After his start, it just looked like he was out of it immediately,” Hovland said. “Everyone came back to the pack. I wasn’t expecting that really. I thought I had to shoot maybe 3-under par today to have a good chance, but obviously the conditions got really, really tough, and this golf course is just a beast.”
Hatton (72) and Ortiz (73), both part of LIV Golf and in serious contention at a major for the first time, tied for fourth along with Cameron Young (70). The consolation for Ortiz was getting into the Masters next year.
Scottie Scheffler, 10 shots behind early in the final round, was somehow still part of the conversation on the back nine. But he missed far too many birdie chances even three-putting from 12 feet no the 11th hole. The world’s No. 1 player finished with a 70 to tie for seventh with Jon Rahm (67) and Burns, his best friend who will feel the sting.
He had a double bogey by missing the green into a bad lie on the slope of a bunker. He missed a pair of 6-foot birdie putts to seize control. And when he made a mess of the 15th for another double bogey.
Through it all, Spaun emerged as a US Open champion hardly anyone saw coming — not at the start of the year, not at the start of the round.
‘Magical’ Duplantis soars to pole vault world record in Stockholm
- Duplantis: It’s a magical feeling, it’s hard to explain. It’ll be one of the greatest memories for me, I think, in my career
- Olympic champion Rai Benjamin edged out Alison dos Santos to win the men’s 400m hurdles, with Karsten Warlhom a distant third
- Julien Alfred won the women’s 100m in 10.75sec, the second fastest time of the year
STOCKHOLM: Swedish double Olympic pole vault champion Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis increased his own world record again on Sunday, clearing 6.28 meters to the delight of the home crowd at the Stockholm Diamond League meet.
With victory in the event already guaranteed, Duplantis broke the world record for the 12th time as he sailed over the bar at the first attempt to improve on his 6.27m effort at Clermont-Ferrand in February.
The 25-year-old ripped off his shirt in celebration and raced down the track in front of jubilant spectators at the Olympic stadium built for the 1912 Games.
“It’s a magical feeling, it’s hard to explain,” said Duplantis, who had not before broken the record in Sweden.
“I wanted this so bad. I wanted to do this in front of everybody here in Stockholm.
“It felt like really something special in the crowd today and I knew that everybody really wanted to see it too.
“It’ll be one of the greatest memories for me, I think, in my career.”
Duplantis notched up his 37th victory in 41 Diamond League outings, finishing well ahead of Australia’s Kurtis Marschall who managed a best of 5.90m.
The US-born Duplantis was in a class of his own in another punishing display of vaulting of the highest order, three days after a stellar display in Oslo.
“I kept saying it was the only thing I was missing in the accolades, to break a record in Sweden,” he said.
“I’ve checked off pretty much everything now.”
Duplantis is the heavy favorite for a third successive world championship gold in Tokyo later this year. He is also a three-time indoor world champion.
He first broke the world record in 2020 when he surpassed the 6.16m mark set by Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie.
Duplantis intends to push the bar even higher after his Stockholm exploits.
“I’m going to jump higher. There’s not much between me and 6.30, technically. It’s just a few centimeters. I’m just a perfect day away from it,” he said.
Hometown runner Andreas Almgren fed off the raucous atmosphere to set a new European record of 12min 44.27sec to win the men’s 5,000m.
Olympic champion Rai Benjamin edged out Alison dos Santos to win the men’s 400m hurdles, with Karsten Warlhom a distant third.
Warholm triumphed in the rarely-run 300km hurdles on his home track in Oslo on Thursday, but Benjamin produced a world-leading time of 46.54sec over 400m.
“I think on Thursday I got a little too excited but I felt good today even though I was tired,” said Benjamin.
Julien Alfred won the women’s 100m in 10.75sec, the second fastest time of the year. It was only the Olympic gold medalist’s second race of the season following her victory in Oslo.
Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith took second (10.93) ahead of Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (11.00).
Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Femke Bol won the women’s 400m hurdles in a season’s best time of 52.11sec. She finished ahead of American Dalilah Muhammad (52.91) and Panama’s Gianna Woodruff (53.99).
“I am not in my best shape yet so to take the victory is especially good,” said Bol.
“A race is never the same as training and it is only my third race of the season... but I am starting to feel the hurdles better every race and getting into race shape.
“It is such a high level at the moment in the hurdles so I am very excited going forward toward the world championships.”
Palmeiras and Porto draw 0-0 in their first Club World Cup match
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ: Palmeiras and two-time European champion Porto tied 0-0 in their opening match of the Club World Cup on Sunday night before a crowd of 46,275 at MetLife Stadium, which was just over half full.
Estevão’s left-footed shot in first-half stoppage time went into the hands of Claúdio Ramos, and Richard Ríos’ attempt off the rebound was blocked.
Palmeiras, Brazil’s club champion in 2022 and ‘23, qualified as the 2021 Copa Libertadores winner, while Porto reached the tournament as Europe’s fifth-ranked eligible team over a four-year period.
Palmeiras had a 17-11 advantage in shots and 55.3 percent possession. Its fans took over a side of the stadium, waving flags and cheering or the entire match.
Key Moment
Ramos’ double save in first-half stoppage time.
Takeaways
There is a four-way tie in Group A, which opened with Inter Miami and Al Ahly’s drawing 0-0 on Saturday, Palmeiras will face 12 -time African champion Al Ahly on Thursday in East Rutherford and Porto will play Miami the same day in Atlanta.
What they said
“The first 60 minutes were short on play. We’ve had many friendlies, but playing behind closed doors isn’t the same as playing with Palmeiras. We competed very well, and we left a mark that we couldn’t give up on.” – Porto coach Martin Anselmi.
“Porto had one or two goal opportunities sometimes it happens, sometimes its not the most aggressive team that wins. I wish that we had played for the 90 minutes like the last 15. But we have competent player, we are a young team. Our attack is very young.” – Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira.
