LONDON: Key midfielder Abdullah Otayf has underlined the growing sense of ambition in the Saudi Arabia squad by claiming they have their sights set on going deeper into the tournament than any Green Falcons team before them.
Juan Antonio Pizzi’s side will launch the tournament against Russia on Thursday but the team’s aspirations go way beyond having the distinction of taking part in the opening game. Saudi Arabia reached the last 16 in 1994, but Otayf has seen enough in friendlies and in training to believe the class of 2018 can not only match that, but surpass it.
“We have great ambitions and this is reflected through the support via various social media networks and the supports of our leaders,” he said in the pre-match press conference in St. Petersburg.
“As I said we have great ambitions, but what matter most is that we play as a one team and present a performance worthy of Saudi football, and we will achieve great results. We have great ambitions and we hope to be able to reach round of 16 and round of 8. This needs great efforts but we hope to be able to reach our goal. We are very well prepared and ready at all levels. Everything is going smoothly.”
Saudi Arabia will be hoping to seize on the fact that Russia have not played a competitive game for more than a year and that they might feel the pressure of an expectant home crowd. The Russians have not won a game since the 4-3 win over South Korea in October.,
“Russia are a good team with great players,” Otayf said.
“We won’t pay any attention to the things happening outside the field. We must focus on our own game. The team with the highest focus and the least errors will win.”
Yahya Al-Shehri should get the nod to play in one of the three midfield positions behind the lone striker and he watched a re-run of the Russians’ 1-0 loss to Austria and their 1-1 draw with Turkey.
“We watched the warm-up match that took place lately,” he said.
“We watched the previous warm-up matches, they have a good team with great players, I don’t have a specific name in my mind. They have in place an integrated system, whether in term of attack or zone defense. That’s what I have noticed. But it does not show the true caliber of Russia team. The performance of the team during an official match differs a lot than warm-up match. We must focus on the weaknesses of the Russia squad and exploit them. We must focus on our game and present and excellent performance so as to win.”
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation have pulled out all the stops for the Kingdom’s fifth appearance at the finals. They have arranged five training camps and nine friendlies this year. No team at the finals will have played more warm-up games than the Green Falcons.
“We are hoping for the best thanks to our preparations and trainings during the past period,” Al-Shehri said.
“We have completed our preparations and spent a big deal of time together. I think the game against Russia will be very difficult and I hope, we will be able to beat Russia because we came here to achieve our ambitions.”
Saudi Arabia confident they can cause a few shocks at World Cup
Saudi Arabia confident they can cause a few shocks at World Cup
- Midfielder certain side can create history by making the last-eight in Russia.
- Green Falcons reached the last 16 at USA 94.
Young future stars of Saudi golf enjoy a moment alongside the big names at LIV Golf Riyadh
- Participants in ROSHN Rising Stars program to develop golfing talent in the Kingdom play friendly competition at Riyadh Golf Club before round 3 of the season opener tees off
- ‘Golf is such a fundamental sport for development … The values of golf can be correlated to the values of society: confidence, resilience and integrity,’ says LIV Golf’s Jake Jones
RIYADH: While much of the spotlight during LIV Golf’s 2026 season opener in Riyadh this week has of course been on the return of some of the sport’s biggest names for the new campaign, a new generation of Saudi golfers is also quietly taking its own first steps into the game.
Participants in the ROSHN Rising Stars program, an initiative designed to introduce and develop young golfing talent across the Kingdom, gathered at Riyadh Golf Club on Friday afternoon for a friendly competition a few hours before the third round of the main event teed off under the lights.
“The real focus is getting golf into the lives of young people in the Kingdom,” Jake Jones, LIV Golf’s senior vice president of impact and sustainability told Arab News as the young golfers took to the course under cloudy skies.
“We wanted to do something a little bit different, something sustained, with a long-term outcome, and that’s how this program was created.”
The program runs for 20 weeks, during which the participants receive weekly coaching and instruction sessions at Riyadh Golf Club from Golf Saudi professionals.
“This takes them from never having held a golf club before to reaching a point where they’ve now played in a competition,” Jones said.
The fact that the LIV Golf season opens in Riyadh provides another key benefit for the participants, as they get to experience the professional game up close, and this access to world-class players and events forms a key part of their journey.
“We give them exposure to our LIV Golf events, here and internationally,” Jones added.
Beyond this, and teaching people how to play the game, the program offers participants insights into the wider aspects of the world of golf, including career opportunities.
“They’ve had behind-the-scenes tours, pitch-and-putt sessions, long-drive competitions and visits to places like the media center,” Jones said. “It’s about showing them what it’s like not just to play golf, but work in the sport as well.”
Friday’s event in Riyadh marked the conclusion of the 20-week program for its participants.
“Today is really the celebration point,” Jones said. “We’re at the graduation phase of this journey, where they’ll compete in a three-hole challenge. We then crown a winner and celebrate with them back at the ROSHN Fan Village.”
As golf continues to grow in popularity in the region, Jones believes initiatives such as Rising Stars will have a lasting effect on the development of next generation of players.
“Golf is such a fundamental sport for development; it’s not just about physical activity and having fun,” he said. “The values of golf can be correlated to the values of society: confidence, resilience and integrity.
“Imagine playing golf and you miss the ball or you end up in the sand; you have to get back up and try again. You block the noise around you and focus on the ball to make the right shot.”
Jones highlighted in particular the importance of integrity as one of golf’s defining characteristics, and how that can help shape personal development.
“The rules of golf are reliant on you following them,” he said. “That sense of honesty and self-discipline is something young players can carry beyond the course” into the roles they play in their communities, societies and countries.
“The role that golf can have with young people in Saudi Arabia is actually another layer of baking in those core societal skills, to ensure that they are fit and robust for the future,” Jones added.
This is particularly important given the youthful nature of the Saudi population, more than half of which is under the age of 30, he said, and they now have the chance to benefit from golf in one way or another.
“Golf is now another avenue that they can explore. Whether it’s playing, working in the sport or simply finding a community, we want to give them another reason to get excited.
“We believe that golf can do all of that and, hopefully, it can spark a lasting passion among the Saudi youth.”
