DOHA: A capacity crowd of 3,000 football supporters on Tuesday packed a dedicated zone in the Qatari capital to watch the Saudi national team kick off their AFC Asian Cup campaign with a hard-fought victory over Oman.
Tensions ran high in the Falcon’s Nest fan zone, set up in Doha by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, as the Green Falcons came from behind to beat the Omanis 2-1 with a last-gasp stoppage-time winner.
Fans unable to make it to the Saudi team’s opening Group F match at the Khalifa International Stadium were able to view the action on a giant screen.
SAFF President Yasser Al-Misehal said: “We’re thrilled that so many fans chose Falcon’s Nest as their preferred destination to watch our men’s national team in action – this is one of the main reasons why it’s open throughout the tournament.
“They want to experience incredible atmospheres within the host nation and Falcon’s Nest offers precisely this. It’s a home of football where brilliant matchday experiences are there for everyone to enjoy,” he added.
Located within Doha’s Katara Cultural Village, the zone will be broadcasting the tournament’s matches from 4 p.m. daily until Feb. 10, when the competition final takes place.
As well as screening games, the facility, which is open to fans of all nationalities, also houses a museum showcasing the history of Saudi football.
Another area offers sports games, challenges, and football skills tests where fans can track the speed of their shots, accuracy of passes, and learn the art of chipping a ball.
In addition, a Realm of the Impossible interactive experience allows visitors to step into the boots of footballing legends and replicate some of the most iconic goals scored for Saudi Arabia in major tournaments.
And the zone also has a merchandise shop where visitors can buy customized items including Saudi national team jerseys.
The Falcon’s Nest is open daily from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. with various food and beverage options available.
Thousands flock to Falcon’s Nest fan zone for Saudi Arabia’s AFC Asian Cup opener
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Thousands flock to Falcon’s Nest fan zone for Saudi Arabia’s AFC Asian Cup opener
- ‘We’re thrilled so many fans chose Falcon’s Nest as their preferred destination to watch our men’s national team’: Saudi football federation president
- Zone can accommodate 3,000 fans, will broadcast tournament matches daily from 4 p.m.
Saudi Arabia defeat Iraq to advance to Gulf Cup last four
- Kingdom into the last 4 of competition
KUWAIT CITY: Saudi Arabia defeated Iraq 3-1 on Saturday to finish top of Group B in the Arabian Gulf Cup and book their place in the last four of the Kuwait tournament.
Needing just a point to progress, two late goals from substitute Abdullah Al-Hamdan, following an earlier strike from his Al-Hilal colleague Salem Al-Dawsari, produced victory and meant that the Green Falcons stayed on course for a first regional title since 2004.
Both teams had chances in the first half, but 10 minutes into the second, Herve Renard’s men — who lost the opening game against Bahrain — got the breakthrough they had been looking for. Ibrahim Bayesh was judged by VAR to have handled in the area to give Saudi Arabia a penalty.
Al-Dawsari had missed his last two spot kicks for the national team, but the 2022 Asian player of the year showed few signs of nerves as he stroked the ball home to give his team a vital lead.
However, after 64 minutes Iraq were level. Mohanad Ali turned Ali Al-Bulaihi inside the area to shoot home inside the near post to give the holders real hope.
There were plenty of nerves among the Kingdom’s fans but the team restored their lead with nine minutes remaining following a delightful strike. Sultan Al-Ghannam pulled the ball back from the right side of the area for Al-Hamdan to take a touch and curl the ball into the top corner of the Iraqi net.
Five minutes later and it was all over. Al-Dawsari skipped clear of challenges in the Iraqi half to feed Al-Hamdan on the left corner of the area and the forward rolled the ball into the opposite side of the net with a precise low shot.
The result meant Saudi Arabia finished top of the group with six points, above Bahrain who lost 2-1 to bottom team Yemen.
The Green Falcons take on hosts Kuwait in the semifinals on Tuesday, while Bahrain meet Group A winners Oman.
Damac’s dangerman Georges-Kevin N’Koudou has Ronaldo and Mitrovic in his sights
- The Cameroon international has scored 13 goals in the Saudi Pro League so far this season
LONDON: Few players will want the winter break in the Saudi Pro League to be over more than Georges-Kevin N’Koudou.
Despite his team Damac sitting in 10th place in the Saudi Pro League table, N’Koudou has netted eight goals in 13 games so far; only Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Aleksandar Mitrovic have scored more in the league this season.
The Cameroon international primarily operates as a winger but since moving to Damac in the summer of 2023, N’Koudou has become a dangerous finisher. Before arriving in Saudi Arabia, he had only scored more than five goals in a season once in his career. At Damac, he has done it twice in a row.
N’Koudou hit the ground running in impressive fashion after his move from Turkish side Besiktas, bagging 14 goals in his first 16 games, including a sensational match-winning brace against then-reigning Saudi champions Al-Ittihad last December. The Damac No. 10 credits his prolific form to the influence of his coach, ex-AC Milan defender Cosmin Contra.
“The coach has given me so much responsibility and freedom on the field,” N’Koudou told Arab News. “He knows I have experience, so he has just let me play my game and be happy on the pitch and off the pitch.
“I have had many great coaches in my career so far but before being a coach, (Contra) is a great man. He’s honest and if he has something to say he will say it to you straight.
“He’s really passionate about the game because he was a player before. He understands us and I think that’s maybe the difference between some of the coaches who weren’t players; he played at a good level in Milan.
“(Now) I feel free and can enjoy my game. The coach helped me a lot and that’s why I think everything happened for me. I scored 15 goals last season and hope I can do the same this season too.”
It could have been even better in 2023-24 for N’Koudou, who tailed off in the second-half of the season, scoring just once in his last 14 games after his electric start. The Cameroon international firmly believes it was fatigue from the mid-season Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast that was responsible for the slowdown.
“When I came back from AFCON I was so tired; my legs were dead,” N’Koudou said. “I always try to recover as much as I can but sometimes you just can’t.
“Damac is a smaller team and they relied more on me to be the one to score goals or make an assist but it was more difficult (after AFCON).”
Without a continental tournament to disrupt his form this season, could N’Koudou make a serious tilt at the Saudi Pro League Golden boot?
“Honestly I’m not someone who looks at the numbers,” N’Koudou said. “These guys — Cristiano, Mitrovic, Benzema — they are strikers, they play on big teams. They fight for the title.
“I’m a winger, and sometimes No. 10, so for me it’s a little bit different. But I always try to do my best for the team and I will try to score more than last season and then I will see how far I can go. I will try to be there.”
Some of N’Koudou’s best performances for Damac have been against the league’s top sides. Having played in Ligue 1 for Marseille and Monaco, and in the English Premier League for Tottenham, he insists he doesn’t treat these matches any differently.
“I have been used to playing against big players since I was 17, 18. It doesn’t feel surprising to me, like it might for other players who don’t have this experience. I am not shy or scared to play. You still have to be able to express yourself, whoever the opponent — even when it is big players or big teams.”
Although he is one of Damac’s most experienced players, N’Koudou says he is a quiet presence in the club’s dressing-room. The Cameroon winger has certainly done most of his talking on the pitch since arriving in Khamis Mushait, winning over fans not only with high-energy displays but with his sunny disposition too. N’Koudou always plays with a smile on his face, something he attributes to the example set by his football heroes growing up.
“I loved Robinho, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo (Nazario),” he said. “When I was young, I saw these kinds of players, they enjoyed football and played with a smile. For me, this is football.
“It is the pleasure of playing before anything else, the same way I played with my friends as a kid or as people play at the weekend with their mates. This is why I smile too.”
N’Koudou hopes that he and his teammates have more to smile about come the end of the season and promised Damac supporters that he will do everything he can to try to take the club up the Saudi Pro League table.
“For a club like Damac our first priority is to stay in the league at the start of every season. And as a professional football player you want to be competitive — to try to go as far as you can.
“I think we have a lot to improve on from the first part (of the season), but I think if we can make a better finish than last season it’s going to be good for the club. We will see how far we can go.”
Saudi Arabia leave it late to down Yemen in Gulf Cup
- After losing to Bahrain in the opening match of Group B, the Green Falcons needed the victory and got it — but only just
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia came back in dramatic fashion to defeat Yemen 3-2 on Wednesday to keep their hopes of advancing to the semifinals of the 26th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup very much alive.
After losing to Bahrain in the opening match of Group B, the Green Falcons needed the victory and got it — but only just.
Amazingly, Yemen, ranked 99 places below their neighbors at 158 in the world, were two goals ahead by the half hour at the Sulaibikhat Stadium in Kuwait. The first came in the eighth minute. Abdulwasea Al-Matari was given plenty of space to cross from the left for Harwan Al-Zubaidi to arrive at the middle of the six yard box just before Ali Al-Bulaihi to send a header into the net. It was Yemen’s first goal against Saudi Arabia in eight Gulf Cup games.
If that stunned the six-time World Cup participants, then worse was to come after 27 minutes. Al-Bulaihi had not seen the run from Abdul Sabarah when he headed a long pass back towards Mohammed Al-Owais but the Sanaa-based star nipped in to slip the ball past the goalkeeper with a first time shot from the edge of the area.
While it was starting to look very bleak for the Green Falcons, on the half hour, they were back in the game. Musab Al-Juwayr floated over a free-kick into the area and there was Mohamed Kanno to head home powerfully.
Three minutes before the hour and the three-time Gulf Cup winners were back on level terms. Radhawan Al-Hubaishi handled in the area and Al-Juwayr stepped up to score from the spot, the midfielder’s second goal in successive games.
Then, deep into injury time, Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored the winning goal to mean that Saudi Arabia are still in contention for a last four place. The Al-Hilal forward swept home from close range as Al-Bulaihi’s header was saved by the goalkeeper.
It was a big goal and a decisive moment but improvements must be made against Iraq on Saturday.
Saudi striker Saleh Al-Shehri out of remainder of Gulf Cup after injury in first match
- Loss of the player, a standout performer recently, after picking up a muscle injury in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat by Bahrain is a significant blow
KUWAIT CITY: Saudi national team striker Saleh Al-Shehri has been ruled out of the remainder of the 26th Gulf Cup after sustaining a muscle injury during the Green Falcons’ opening match against Bahrain on Sunday.
Head coach Herve Renard made the decision to send Al-Shehri home from the team’s training camp after medical reports confirmed the injury will require treatment and rehabilitation.
Saudi Arabia suffered a 3-2 defeat in the match against Bahrain. The loss of Al-Shehri, a key player and standout performer for the team in recent months, will be a significant blow for the squad as they attempt to get their Gulf Cup campaign back on track against Yemen at Jaber Stadium in Kuwait on Wednesday.
During a training session on Monday evening, Renard divided the squad into two groups, with the players who started on Sunday focusing on recovery exercises in the gym while the remainder of the squad trained on the pitch at Al-Nassr Club Stadium.
Green Falcons fall to Bahrain in opening Gulf Cup match
- Uphill battle to make the semifinals after 3-2 loss
- Saudi Arabia have not won the trophy for 20 years
KUWAIT CITY: Saudi Arabia lost 3-2 to Bahrain here on Sunday to get their challenge for the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup off to the worst possible start.
The defeat at the hands of their rivals for 2026 World Cup qualification leaves Herve Renard’s men with it all to do if they are to finish in the top two places in Group B and progress to the semifinal.
It also means that the Green Falcons have won just one of their last eight competitive matches.
Bahrain, who drew with Saudi Arabia in October in the final match of Roberto Mancini’s troubled tenure, took the lead in the 19th minute with a well-worked corner.
Mahdi Al-Humaidan swung over a cross from the right and there was Mahdi Abduljabbar to meet the ball at the near post and send a powerful header into the opposite top corner.
Bahrain extended their lead seven minutes before the break. Mohamed Marhoon’s low cross from the right took a slight touch from Ali Lajami to help the ball on its way to Humaidan who shot past Nawaf Al-Aqidi from close range.
Saudi Arabia have not won the trophy for 20 years and Renard had selected a strong team to start this campaign and they got back into the game with 17 minutes remaining.
Bahrain failed to deal with a ball into the area and there was Musab Al-Juwayr to side-foot the ball beautifully home from the right side.
Suddenly the Saudi Arabian fans in the Jaber International Stadium were on their feet, but not for long as three minutes later Marhoon restored Bahrain’s two-goal cushion in exquisite fashion.
Mohamed Al-Romaih’s volleyed pass from midway in the Saudi Arabian half floated over the heads of the green backline for Marhoon to gently lift the ball over Al-Aqidi.
To Saudi Arabia’s credit, they kept coming back and were given a penalty with four minutes remaining as Amine Benaddi handled in the area.
It looked as if Salem Al-Dawsari was going to take the kick but the star of the team, who missed from the spot against Indonesia and Bahrain in recent World Cup qualifiers, handed the ball to Salem Al-Shehri who made no mistake.
The 2004 champions were unable to get the third goal that would have earned a point and now face Yemen, who earlier lost 1-0 to Iraq.
The Green Falcons need improvement, a lift and — most importantly — a win.
