LONDON: There was a fear that after losing two matches on the bounce to Italy and Peru, all the pre-match pressure ahead of Saudi Arabia’s clash with Germany in Leverkusen would be on Juan Antonio Pizzi’s men.
A shock 2-1 defeat for Germany to Austria last Friday, however, means that tonight’s friendly between the Green Falcons and the defending World Cup champions has taken on an importance for both sides that few would have predicted even two weeks ago.
Germany come into the clash without a victory in five matches and with worry rather than wins on their mind. That streak may have included difficult matches against England, France, Spain and Brazil, but there is little doubting that all is not well in the German camp.
The Green Falcons, though, are not reading anything into recent results and are all too aware of the challenge they will face in their last match before the kick-off against hosts Russia on Thursday.
“We all know of the strength of Germany and this is going to be a very valuable experience for us,” Saudi Arabia skipper Osama Hawsawi told Saudi TV.
“They are the world champions and we can see the standards they have. This has to be a real team effort and we know what we have to do.
“We have been working hard and will continue to do so ahead of the World Cup.”
While the 3-0 defeat to Peru was less than ideal, Pizzi did play a second-string side against an under-rated South American outfit buoyed by the return of their star man, Paolo
Guerrero.
Tonight Pizzi is expected to play as close to his first-strength side as possible, sticking with the players who did well in the second half of the 2-1 loss to Italy and in the victories over Algeria and Greece.
Perhaps more than the result — the serious work does not start until the side reaches Russia — Pizzi will be looking for a good performance, one that shows that as soon as the opening game against Russia gets underway, with the eyes of the world watching, his players will not be overawed.
Much rests on the shoulders of Hawsawi, Taiser Al-Jassim, Salem Al-Dawsari and Fahad Al-Muwallad, the spine of the team expected to lead the Green Falcons’ charge in Russia.
Hattan Batehbri realizes the size of the task facing Saudi Arabia, both tonight and once the tournament kicks off.
“We are working as hard as we can to improve. We know that this game is (a step up in class), and every moment we are focused on the game so we can represent the country better,” the midfielder said.
As if failing to win in five matches was not bad enough — Germany’s most recent victory came against Chile last July — Joachim Low also has injury concerns.
Arsenal star Mesut Ozil will miss tonight’s match with a knee injury, but the attacking midfielder’s participation in the World Cup is not in danger, according to the German football federation.
The midfielder, who picked up the injury during the Austria defeat, has not taken part in full training over the past four days at Germany’s
pre-World Cup camp in Eppan, in northern Italy.
“It’s nothing dramatic, we just don’t want to take any risk and he was able to sprint in training. I assume he will be OK for the World Cup,” Germany’s team director, Oliver Bierhoff, said.
The sole injury worry for Pizzi concerns Abdullah Otayf. The midfielder has been reportedly experiencing muscle pain, but is expected to be fine for both the Germany match and World Cup.
If there is one concern, it is that facing the world champions a week out from the tournament could backfire if Low’s side inflict a heavy defeat.
There is little doubt it will be a tough match. Pizzi will set the side up to be more compact in midfield and defense compared with the Peru
defeat and will look to attack on the break. Those will be the tactics in Russia, and a good performance tonight, regardless of the result, is what the Chile boss will be after.
Saudi Arabia all set for tough Germany test in final pre-World Cup friendly
Saudi Arabia all set for tough Germany test in final pre-World Cup friendly
- Green Falcons head into last pre-World Cup clash on the back of two defeats.
- Germany also in the spotlight - the World Cup champions are without a win since last July.
Canada’s Dabrowski reveals cancer treatment amid run to Olympic bronze
- Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski revealed Tuesday that her run to Olympic tennis bronze in Paris came as she received treatment for breast cancer
“How can something so small cause such a big problem? This is the question I asked myself when I was diagnosed with breast cancer back in mid-April,” the 32-year-old doubles specialist wrote on Instagram.
“I know this will come as a shock to many, but I am okay and I will be okay. Early detection saves lives. I can wholeheartedly agree with this.”
Dabrowski said she discovered a lump in her left breast during a 2023 self-exam, but at that time was told its size meant there was no cause for concern.
A year later it was larger and she underwent a biopsy and received the diagnosis.
“Those are words you never expect to hear, and in an instant your life or the life of a loved one turns upside down,” said Dabrowski, who won the 2023 US Open women’s doubles title, the 2018 Australian Open mixed-doubles title and the 2017 French Open mixed-doubles title.
Dabrowski said her “surreal” second half of the 2024 season included two surgeries and radiotherapy, before slightly delaying further treatment to compete at Wimbledon and the Olympics.
She teamed up with New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe to finish runners-up at Wimbledon and won mixed-doubles bronze in Paris with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
She and Routliffe won the doubles crown at the season-ending WTA Tour Finals in Riyadh.
Dabrowski said she waited to share her story because she “wanted to figure everything out and handle things privately with only those closest to me in the loop.”
Now, she says, her perspective on her tennis career and life has changed.
“When the threat of losing everything I’d worked for my entire life became a real possibility, only then did I begin to authentically appreciate what I had,” she said.
“My mindset shifted from ‘I have to do this’ to ‘I get to do this.’
“Through this lens I find it so much easier to find joy in areas of my life I previously viewed as a heavy weight.”
Dabrowski’s post was met with an outpouring of support from WTA colleagues, including Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, Pegula calling her “effing strong.”
Routliffe said she was “lucky” to be by Dabrowski’s side through it all.
“Here’s to more smiling in 2025,” Routliffe said.
Ruben Amorim is ‘very excited’ about where 14th-place Man United can go in 2025
- The Portuguese says he’s determined to press on with the 3-4-3 system despite the difficulties United’s squad has had in adapting
- United have the toughest of starts to 2025 when they travel to play league leader Liverpool on Sunday in what is widely considered English soccer’s fiercest rivalry
MANCHESTER: Despite his team entering 2025 in 14th place in the Premier League, Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is “very excited” about the year ahead.
United’s 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle on Monday saw them suffer five league losses in the same calendar month for the first time since September 1962, and a fourth straight reverse in all competitions means the Red Devils have lost six of their last eight.
But in a message posted on his club’s official X account on New Year’s Eve, Amorim wrote: “I know it will take a lot of hard work from everyone to get there, but I am very excited about where we can go together in 2025.”
Amorim is yet to halt the alarming slide which led to Erik ten Hag’s dismissal in October, and his team is seven points above the drop zone with increasing talk of a relegation fight, including by Amorim himself who has called it “a possibility.”
But the Portuguese says he’s determined to press on with the 3-4-3 system despite the difficulties United’s squad has had in adapting.
“Of course I didn’t choose the players specifically for these positions but that I already knew,” he said. “But I understand they have a lot of difficulties because they spend two years playing one way and then they are playing another.”
Amorim did not have the benefit of a pre-season to implement such a major change to United’s tactical model, and admitted that is having a significant impact.
“I think the players are losing everything, the small things that we try to work on in training,” Amorim said. “After one goal they lose everything because we don’t have the base, we don’t have time to build the base to cope with the difficult moments so it’s really hard in this moment.”
United have the toughest of starts to 2025 when they travel to play league leader Liverpool on Sunday in what is widely considered English soccer’s fiercest rivalry.
Disappointing year ends with dismal defeat for Saudi Arabia
- Oman go on to face either Bahrain or Kuwait in the final
RIYADH: New Year’s Eve 2024 saw Saudi Arabia lose 2-1 to Oman to crash out of the Arabian Gulf Cup at the semifinal stage and end a below-par 2024 on a low note.
With just one win in six 2026 World Cup qualifiers that resume in March, coach Herve Renard hoped to kick-start the national team’s fortunes with success in the Gulf Cup, currently being held in Kuwait.
The Frenchman’s desire was dashed despite Oman playing the majority of the game with ten men as Rabia Al-Alawi was shown a straight red in the 34th minute for a wild lunge on Salem Al-Dawsari. As the Al-Nahda star left the pitch in the Kuwait City stadium, Saudi Arabian fans were expecting a comfortable win but despite the possession and chances, the Green Falcons were unable to take advantage of their one-man advantage.
Oman redoubled their efforts to deny their opponents time and space but Saudi Arabia, seeking a first Gulf Cup win since 2004, had the ball in the net midway through the second half. Abdullah Al-Hamdan had scored twice against Iraq three days earlier, but his close-range effort was ruled out for offside.
It was Oman who took the lead in the 74th minute as Arshad Al-Alawi fired home a free-kick from outside the area, squeezing his shot under the Saudi wall.
Herve Renard’s men pushed forward in search of an equalizer but found themselves two goals down with five minutes remaining after Ali Al-Busaidi scored again for Oman.
It looked to be game over but Mohamed Kanno pulled a goal back in the 87th minute to cut short the Omani celebrations and give Saudi Arabian fans hope. The Al-Hilal midfielder curled home a beauty from outside the area.
It was too little too late, however. In the 10th minute of added time, Abdulelah Hawsawi was sent off to level the number of players on both sides but despite the pressure, the men from Riyadh were unable to level the scores and now have to return home with much to ponder.
Oman, meanwhile, go on to face either Bahrain or Kuwait in the final.
Djokovic, Sabalenka win season-openers but Kyrgios loses on return
- Former world number one Novak Djokovic is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam crown in January in Melbourne
- Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios loses in three tight sets in his first singles match since June 2023
BRISBANE, Australia: Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka launched their Australian Open preparations with straight-sets wins on Tuesday at the Brisbane International but Nick Kyrgios lost on his return from injury.
Former world number one Djokovic, who is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam crown in January in Melbourne, eased to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over wildcard Rinky Hijikata.
The 37-year-old Serb broke Hijikata once in the first set and twice in the second for a comfortable 74-minute win.
Djokovic, now ranked seven in the world, was all business against the young Australian and always looked in control as he set up a second-round clash against fellow veteran Gael Monfils.
“To start the new season with a win is obviously very important,” said Djokovic, who is pursuing an unprecedented 11th Australian Open title.
“But Hijikata was really good tonight and he made me work for it.”
Australian firebrand Kyrgios lost in three tight sets in his first singles match since June 2023.
Kyrgios went down 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3) to Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in almost two and a half hours as serve dominated.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios, 29, is making his comeback following wrist reconstruction and other injuries over the past couple of years.
Ahead of the Australian Open starting on January 12, big-serving Mpetshi Perricard said Kyrgios had shown enough to suggest that his comeback would be a success.
Kyrgios played and won in the doubles with Djokovic on Monday.
“Playing Nick here wasn’t a good match-up for me,” the 21-year-old Mpetshi Perricard said, asked about playing Kyrgios in front of his home crowd.
“He did some good things, he played with confidence.”
The Frenchman, who has risen from 205 in the world at the start of 2024 to his current ranking of 31, fired down 36 aces.
Women’s world number one Sabalenka kickstarted her bid to win the Australian Open for a third consecutive time with a straight-forward win after a sluggish start.
The Belarusian appeared bothered by the high humidity on Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, particularly during an error-strewn first set against Renata Zarazua.
But after breaking Mexico’s Zarazua at 5-4, the 26-year-old surged through the second set to wrap up the match 6-4, 6-0 in 65 minutes.
“The first match is always a tricky one,” Sabalenka said.
“It was a tricky start for me but I’m glad that I closed it out in the first set, and in the second set I felt like whatever I tried to do it would work for me.
“So I’m really happy for the first win of the season.”
Sabalenka is bidding to be the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997-99 to win three Australian Opens in succession.
She will play Yulia Putintseva next after the Kazakh’s 6-2, 7-5 win over American Mccartney Kessler.
Pakistan’s Azan Ali Khan clinches Junior Under-17 Scottish Open squash title
- Khan defeats Swiss opponent to win tournament that featured players from 22 nations
- Khan will now compete in the British Open World Junior Squash Championship next year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani squash player Azan Ali Khan clinched the Junior Under-17 Scottish Junior Open Championship 2024 in Edinburgh this week, defeating Switzerland’s Landro Wagle in the final while remaining undefeated throughout the tournament, a non-government organization sponsoring him said on Tuesday.
The Scottish Junior Open 2024 was held from Dec. 28 to 30, featuring players from 22 countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Egypt and the United States.
“Azlan Ali Khan has emerged as the champion of the 2024 Scottish Junior Open Championship,” Muslim Hands Pakistan, Khan’s sponsor, said in a statement. “Azan Ali Khan defeated Switzerland’s Landro Wagle in the final to win the title.”
Muslim Hands Pakistan, a branch of the UK-based charity, works to alleviate poverty, sickness and lack of education in the country. It operates over 335 schools, serving more than 25,000 students and runs projects in health care, water, sanitation and vocational training.
Khan dedicated his victory to Pakistan’s out-of-school children. The South Asian country has a population 22.8 million out-of-school children aged 5-16 years, making Pakistan the country with the second-highest number of out-of-school children.
Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Youth Program, congratulated Khan, his coach and team manager on the achievement.
“Azan Ali Khan is now preparing for the next stage and will compete in the British Open World Junior Squash Championship,” Muslim Hands said. “The British Open World Junior Squash Championship will be held from January 2 to January 6 in Birmingham.”
