MARBELLA: Juan Antonio Pizzi hailed his Saudi Arabia side’s “heart” after watching them rally from being a goal down to claim a hard-fought draw against Ukraine on Friday in what was essentially his first official match in charge of the Green Falcons.
A 3-0 win over Moldova in Jeddah last month was largely dismissed as a training game, while a 4-1 defeat to Iraq a few days later featured an experimental side shorn of first-team players. Friday night’s clash with a team FIFA ranks as the 35th best in the world was thus billed as Pizzi’s side’s first real test. They passed, if not with flying colors then at least with positivity and promise going into Tuesday’s glamor friendly with Belgium in Brussels.
Ukraine had started stronger in a rain-hit Marbella, coming close on various occasions before Artem Kravets opened the scoring with a free header after 32 minutes. Yet Saudi stayed calm, grew into the tie and after Fahad Al-Muwallad struck his side’s response to draw level before the break, Pizzi’s team were the better side in the second half and could even have snatched a win through Salem Al-Dawsari.
“We are happy with this test,” Pizzi said. “A competitive exercise against a team of a similar calibre to us. The first half was difficult, but I think we improved in the second period and had control of the game. Now we are able to go away and form some opinions. We are very happy with the strength and the competitive spirit that the players have demonstrated.”
It is less than three months until Saudi will open the World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium against hosts Russia on June 14. With Ukraine sharing similar characteristics with their Eastern European neighbors, Pizzi had hoped to glean some insight into how his lithe players will cope and compete against a more physically aggressive side.
“We trust that what we lack physically we will compensate for with our attitude, with our heart and with the motivation of what it means to play for this team, like we showed here,” he said. “I am pleased with what I saw and it convinces me we are improving and advancing in the direction that we want.”
Much has been made of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s decision in January to send several of the team’s elite players to Spain in order to gain experience at the likes of Villarreal and Leganes. In theory, the project makes perfect sense, but deployed midway through the season and with the Spanish teams seemingly having little say about which players they received, the project has raised questions.
None of the three Spain-based players that featured against Ukraine — Al-Dawsari, Al-Muwallad and Yahia Al-Shehri — have played a competitive minute since January. Yet Pizzi insisted he is happy with the arrangement, noting an improvement in mentality, and suggesting the reason they are not playing for their clubs is more about “competitive favoritism” rather than any perceived lack of quality.
“I am happy with the players who play here in Spain,” he said. “They were all fully fit coming into this training camp and I could immediately see that they have worked hard at their respective clubs. Their competitiveness and form were good, so that is why I started all three of them.”
Asked by Arab News whether the three players’ fitness levels were enough to enable them to feature against Belgium on Tuesday, Pizzi said it was too early to say, but insisted whatever team he selects to face the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku will be ready.
“We have only four days so, first, we need to see how the players recover and then we will make decisions as the days go by,” he said.
Saudi Arabia coach 'very happy' as Green Falcons show World Cup pedigree against Ukraine
Saudi Arabia coach 'very happy' as Green Falcons show World Cup pedigree against Ukraine
Riyadh 2026: The gateway to LIV’s most global season yet
- We are the world’s golf league, says LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil
- Riyadh will host the LIV Golf League season opener for the second consecutive season
RIYADH: Under the lights of Riyadh Golf Club, LIV Golf begins its campaign from February 4 to 7 in the Kingdom’s capital, opening what is the most international season to date. With 14 events scheduled across 10 countries and five continents, LIV has doubled down on its ambition to position itself as golf’s leading global circuit outside the United States.
For LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, that identity is no longer about staging tournaments in different timezones, but also about aligning more closely with the sport’s tradition. One of the league’s headline shifts for 2026 has been the switch from 54-hole events to 72 holes.
“The move to 72 holes was much talked about,” O’Neil said at the pre-season press conference. “For us, that was relatively simple. We want to make sure that our players are best prepared for the majors, that it’s not as much of a sprint, that our teams have a chance to recover after a tough day one.”
He added that the decision was also driven by the league’s commercial and broadcast momentum across several markets.
“With the overwhelming support we have seen in several of our markets, quite frankly, more content is better. More fans come in, more broadcast content social hospitality checks check,” O’Neil said.
Launched in 2022 after a great deal of fanfare, LIV Golf had initially differentiated itself from other golf tours with a shorter, more entertainment-led event model. This includes team competition, alongside individual scoring, concert programming and fan-focused activations.
After four campaigns with 54-holes, the shift back to 72 signals an attempt to preserve the golf identity while answering longstanding questions about competitive comparability with golf’s established tours.
Riyadh will now host the LIV Golf League season opener for the second consecutive season, following its debut under the night lights in February 2025. As the individual fund rises from $20 million to $22 million, and the team purse increases from $5 million to $8 million, LIV Golf is not backing down on its bid to showcase confidence and continuity as it enters its fifth season.
For the Kingdom, the role goes beyond simply hosting the opening event. Positioned at the crossroads of continents, Riyadh has become LIV’s gateway city — the place where the league sets its tone before exporting it across various locations across the world.
“Players from 26 countries? Think about that being even possible 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago,” O’Neil said. “That there would be players from 26 countries good enough to play at an elite level globally, and there is no elite platform outside the U.S.”
The departure of Brooks Koepka from LIV and his return to the PGA Tour has inevitably raised questions around player movement and long-term sustainability. O’Neil, however, framed the decision as a matter of fit rather than fallout.
“If you are a global citizen and you believe in growing the game, that means getting on a plane and flying 20 hours,” he said. “That’s not for everybody. It isn’t.”
Despite the separation, O’Neil insisted there was no animosity.
“I love Brooks. I root for Brooks. I am hoping the best for him and his family,” he emphasised.
Attention now turns to the players who have reaffirmed their commitment to LIV Golf, including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith. Amid continued tensions with the DP World Tour and the sport’s traditional power centres, O’Neil insists the league’s focus remains inward.
“There is no holy war, at least from our side. We are about LIV Golf and growing the game globally,” he said.
From Riyadh to Adelaide, from Hong Kong to South Africa, LIV Golf’s 2026 calendar stretches further ever than before. As debate continues over the league’s place within the sport, LIV is preparing to show that its challenge to golf’s established order is not, as some doubters suggest, fading.
With the spotlight firmly on its fifth season, Riyadh will provide the first impression — the opening statement from which LIV Golf intends to show the world where it stands.
