CHINA: Abdulaziz Al-Aryani insists his Saudi Arabia side can bring the AFC U23 Championship back to the Kingdom as the Green Falcons prepare to kick off in the tournament in China.
Saudi Arabia face Jordan on Wednesday where they will hope to kick-start this campaign and go one better than the 2013 U23 Championship, when they lost out to Iraq in the final.
The Saudis will also face Iraq and Malaysia in Group C of the competition this year, and Al-Ittihad striker Al-Aryani is confident his team can go all the way.
“We are coming into this competition with one target, which is to win the title and then after that, if we succeed, then it will be registered on each player’s record and it will help him in his career,” he told the AFC website.
“Our group has teams that are equally strong, and the competition will be very tough between the teams. But we will do our best during the matches so that we can qualify for the knockout stages,” said Al-Aryani.
Having missed out on the knock-out stages in 2016, Al Aryani’s teammate Osama Al-Khalaf believes Saudi Arabia have a team more than capable of making a mark, as a result of an impressive preparation period.
“The Saudi squad for this competition is very good, we have 12 or 13 players who are in the starting list of the first team at the club level, so we believe that we have what is needed to compete here,” said the Al-Etifaq midfielder.
“Our preparations went very well. We played in the qualifiers, then had a training camp in Turkey and played an international tournament in China. In my opinion, our preparations were very good.”
Saudi Arabia U23 team looking to bring AFC trophy back to the Kingdom
Saudi Arabia U23 team looking to bring AFC trophy back to the Kingdom
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Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka powers her way into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open
- Aryna Sabalenka rolls over the 19-year-old Canadian in just 31 minutes on Rod Laver Arena
- Sabalenka will be up against an even younger player in the quarterfinals, 18-year-old Iva Jovic
MELBOURNE: Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, attempting to win her third Australian Open title in four years, reached the quarterfinals on Sunday with a victory over No. 17 Victoria Mboko of Canada 6-1, 7-6 (1).
Sabalenka, using a high-powered serve that produced three aces in the first set, rolled over the 19-year-old Canadian in just 31 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Sabalenka was not quite as dominant in the second set — producing a few more unforced errors — against Mboko, who played well enough to beat many players but not the two-time Australian Open champion.
“What an incredible player for such a young age,” the 27-year-old Sabalenka said of the young Canadian. “It’s incredible to see these kids coming up on Tour. I can’t believe I say that. I feel like I’m a kid.”
“She pushed me so much, and I’m happy to be through,” Sabalenka added in her on-court interview.
Sabalenka led the second set 4-1, and then failed to convert three match points while leading 5-4. Mboko slowly took back the momentum and forced a tiebreaker only for Sabalenka to dominate.
It was the 20th straight tiebreak victory for Sabalenka.
“I try to — not to think this is a tiebreak and play point by point, and I guess that’s the key to consistency,” she said.
Sabalenka won this Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up last year against Madison Keys. The Belarussian has also won two US Open titles.
Sabalenka will be up against an even younger player in the quarterfinals — 18-year-old American Iva Jovic.
The No. 29-seeded Jovic defeated Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 on John Cain Arena in just 53 minutes as she advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
In a later match Sunday on Rod Laver Arena, the top-seeded man Carlos Alcaraz of Spain faced American No. 19 Tommy Paul for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff, the third seeds on the men and women’s side, also played later for spots in the quarterfinals.
