LONDON: Many of the Al-Hilal players took off their medals as soon as they received them on Saturday night at the Saitama Stadium. They were in no mood to celebrate losing the AFC Champions League final to Urawa Reds.
That the Saudis had been the better team over two legs and played the better football was even less consolation. Yet what happened in Japan and along the long journey to the final could serve the national team well next summer as the Green Falcons seek to do in Russia what they failed to do in Japan: Exit the tournament with no regrets.
Before looking forward to next year, it is time for a quick glance back. Overall, 2017 has been a good year for Saudi Arabian football. The Green Falcons soared to the World Cup and the country’s biggest club — sorry Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr —  is probably the best in Asia at the moment. Not only that, Al-Hilal supplied nine players to the squad of 30 called up for November’s European training camp in Portugal.
The next national team coach, whoever he may be, can build his side around a strong Al-Hilal spine made stronger by recent events. There is Abdullah Al-Mayouf in goal. His second-leg stop from Shinzo Koroki was one of the saves of 2017. In the heart of defense is the redoubtable Osama Hawsawi. The center-back is slowing down a little but a decade after making his international debut he still provides the necessary nous and leadership at the back.
The Riyadh giants have top-class talent in the middle. Abdullah Otayf, a standout of the 2017 tournament, is underrated and barely puts a foot or pass wrong. Nawaf Al-Abed has already made a continental-wide reputation by finishing as joint top scorer in the final round of World Cup qualification. With the injury to Brazilian midfielder Eduardo, Al-Abed is going to get plenty of playing time in the first half of next year.
The club lacks a top-class Saudi striker, but boast other talents. Mohammed Al-Burayk gave one of the best attacking displays from a right-back seen for many a year in Asia.
Urawa’s Tomoya Ugajin is an experienced and respected left-back but his memories of lifting the trophy and celebrating with team-mates will be interspersed with more chilling images of being left for dead and watching as another dangerous cross was launched into the area. Also on the flanks is Salem Al-Dawsari, a talented winger with tricky feet and an explosive shot.
The run to the final will have given these players more experience of tense and vital international games that must be won, or at least, not lost. 
The Al-Hilal players have established or enhanced continental reputations that will stand them in good stead. Most of them are not up and coming youngsters but players in their mid-to-late twenties who should be at their peak. The World Cup is their time.
Clearly there is some work to do. The dismissal of Al-Dawsari in the second half of the second leg virtually sealed Al-Hilal’s fate. Frustration is understandable given the way Urawa defended but going in late, high and with studs up is not. The game was starting to drift away from the visitors but his actions sealed their fate. There were cracks in the team’s discipline at times of stress over the two legs.
At the World Cup, officiating tends to be more sensitive and Saudi Arabia need to be patient and intelligent. It is going to be hard enough in Russia as it is without having men sent off for stupid fouls.
Yet ironically, Saudi Arabia may find that their best chance of success comes when they are the ones doing the frustrating. And this is where Urawa Reds come in. After all, the Japanese team changed their coach and style of play midway through this season and it paid dividends.
Facing a team with more firepower and talent, the Japanese were well-organized and hard to break down. They defended with discipline and always looked to counter-attack. When chances did come their way they were much more clinical than their opponents.
Urawa’s triumph may be painful for Hilal fans but could be very useful indeed for those of Saudi Arabia. Whatever happens in Russia, there should be no “what-ifs” as the players head home.