Saudi Arabia touch down in Russia ahead of World Cup

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Juan Antonio Pizzi leads the Saudi Arabia party off the plane in Saint Petersburg. (AFP)
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Updated 10 June 2018
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Saudi Arabia touch down in Russia ahead of World Cup

LONDON: The Saudi Arabia team have arrived in Russia to begin their World Cup mission.

The 23-man playing squad, plus coach Juan Antonio Pizzi, his backroom staff and a Saudi Arabian Football Federation delegation led by president Adel Ezzat, landed at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport on Saturday night after a near three-hour flight from Germany. The aircraft had a giant falcon emblazoned on the side while the nose of the plane had “God Bless You” written in both Arabic and English.

Pizzi led the party off the plane to a coach where the team made the short trip to their hotel base. On Sunday, the squad had a meeting with a delegation from the World Cup organizing committee. The players will remain at their basecamp in St. Petersburg until Tuesday before flying down to Moscow on a FIFA-provided jet.

Pizzi will now spend the next few days getting his players in the right mental and physical state to play hosts Russia in the World Cup opener on Thursday. He must also decide on his starting XI ahead of their final training session at the Luzhniki Stadium on Wednesday. All eyes will then be on Thursday’s tournament opener against Russia in front of 81,000 spectactors — with more than 250 million expected to be watching on TV.

Pizzi was part of Argentina’s 1998 World Cup squad but this will be his first tournament as a coach.

“Fortunately, the players here are very malleable and have adapted to what we want from them,” the coach said in an exclusive interview with Arab News. “They know what to expect in Russia and know what we expect of them, so we are ready to perform to our best abilities. We are looking forward to the World Cup without fear.”

Saudi Arabia head into the tournament on the back of three straight defeats at the hands of Italy, Peru and Germany, but they showed enough in those games, particularly against Italy and Germany, to show they have a realistic chance of pipping Russia and Egypt to the second spot behind Group A favorites Uruguay.

Saudi Arabia’s World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Yasser Al-Mosaileem, Abdullah Al-Mayouf, Mohammed Al-Owais
Defenders: Osama Hawsawi, Motaz Hawsawi, Omar Hawsawi, Yasser Al-Shahrani, Mansour Al-Harbi, Mohammed Al-Burayk, Ali Al-Bulayhi
Midfielders: Abdullah Otayf, Taisir Al-Jassim, Hussein Al-Moqahwi, Salman Al-Faraj, Salem Al-Dawsari, Fahad Al-Muwallad, Yahya Al-Shehri, Abdulmalik Al-Khaibari, Mohammed Kanno, Abdulla Al-Khaibari, Hattan Bahebri
Strikers: Mohammed Al-Sahlawi, Mohannad Assiri


Liverpool rocked by last-gasp defeat at Wolves

Updated 04 March 2026
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Liverpool rocked by last-gasp defeat at Wolves

  • Liverpool’s first defeat in five games in all competitions will raise fresh questions about Slot’s Anfield future

LONDON: Liverpool suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolves as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the Premier League’s bottom club on Tuesday.
Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux.
Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November.
But Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool.
It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017.
Liverpool have conceded 14 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, with only Newcastle shipping more in the same period in the Premier League.
The Reds remain fifth but their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League have been hurt by a defeat that means sixth-placed Chelsea will go above them if they beat Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Liverpool’s first defeat in five games in all competitions will raise fresh questions about Slot’s Anfield future.
This was the first of Liverpool’s two trips to Molineux in the space of four days, with an immediate chance for revenge in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday.
Slot this week said he no longer finds Premier League matches a “joy to watch” due to the rise in set-piece goals, and Liverpool supporters took no pleasure from this dismal performance.
Wolves and Liverpool fans joined in a sustained round of applause on 18 minutes in memory of Diogo Jota, who wore that shirt number during his time at Molineux before joining the Reds.
Portugal forward Jota died in a car crash in Spain last year.

Crest-fallen Slot

That emotional tribute seemed to suck the energy from both teams in a scrappy first half.
Liverpool were punished for their lethargy in the 78th minute.
Tolu Arokodare got away with a nudge on Virgil van Dijk to win the ball before playing a superb pass to Rodrigo Gomes, who held off Ibrahima Konate and guided a clinical finish past Alisson Becker.
Liverpool finally awoke from their slumber after that shock, grabbing an equalizer in the 83rd minute with a helping hand from Wolves.
Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was guilty of a woeful pass that Salah intercepted, racing into the area for a shot that eluded Jose Sa’s weak attempted save.
Salah has scored just eight goals — five in the league — during a turbulent season.
Liverpool were still creaky at the back and Andre pounced on Alisson’s poor clearance four minutes to steal the points in stoppage-time.
Andre’s powerful strike deflected off Liverpool defender Joe Gomez and looped over the wrong-footed Alisson as Wolves boss Rob Edwards sprinted down the touchline in a wild celebration while Slot looked on crestfallen.
Wolves are 11 points from safety with eight games left and relegation remains almost certain despite this memorable victory.
Everton ended their dismal home form and pushed Burnley closer to relegation with a 2-0 win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Buoyed by their 3-2 win at Newcastle last weekend, Everton dispatched second-bottom Burnley with their first win in eight home league matches.
Former Burnley defender James Tarkowski put Everton in front with a powerful header from James Garner’s 32nd minute free-kick.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall doubled Everton’s advantage on the hour taking Iliman Ndiaye’s pass and clipping a composed finish past Martin Dubravka from six yards.
Everton remain in contention for a European berth, while Burnley are eight points from safety with just nine games left.
Habib Diarra’s penalty fired Sunderland to a 1-0 victory against Leeds on their first Premier League visit to Elland Road since 2002.
Bournemouth and Brentford shared a goalless draw at the Vitality Stadium that did little to improve either side’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.