Saudi women’s national football team beat Maldives 2-0 in second international

Al-Bandari Mubarak opens the scoring in Saudi’s 2-0 win over the Maldives in Male. (SAFF)
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Updated 24 February 2022
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Saudi women’s national football team beat Maldives 2-0 in second international

  • Al-Bandari Mubarak scored both goals following her opening strike in the team’s debut win against the Seychelles on Sunday
  • For the second match running, the Saudi defence held out for a clean sheet for a final score of 2-0

The Saudi Arabian women’s national football team have beaten the Maldives 2-0 in only their second international match, which took place at the National Stadium in Male.

The female Falcons made history on Sunday when they defeated the Seychelles 2-0 in their debut match at the mini-tournament in the Maldives.

Once again, it was Al-Bandari Mubarak — scorer of the opening goal against the Seychelles — who took center stage, breaking the deadlock against the host nation in the 62nd minute, before doubling the lead eight minutes from the final whistle.

For the second match running, the Saudi defence held out for a clean sheet for a final score of 2-0.

The win over the Seychelles brought international acclaim for the team and German coach Monika Staab, with Brazilian football legend Pele leading the congratulations.

“Today is a historic day, not only for you, but for everyone who loves football,” he tweeted. “I want to congratulate the @SaudiFF (Saudi Arabian Football Federation) and their women’s National Football Team for their first ever official FIFA match.”


Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open

Updated 4 sec ago
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Paolini races into round two to kickstart Australian Open

MELBOURNE: Jasmine Paolini powered into the Australian Open second round with a straight-sets demolition to kickstart the action in a hot and sunny Melbourne on Sunday.
The seventh-seeded Italian outclassed Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena.
Paolini faces Poland’s Magdalena Frech or Veronika Erjavec of Slovenia next.
“It was pretty good today, I did not expect that,” she said of her emphatic win in 69 minutes.
“Always tough to play first round. I played pretty good. I was solid, focused, so happy.
“Before the match I was a little nervous, to be honest, but then stepped on court and felt good from the first ball.”
The 30-year-old broke her opponent’s serve immediately and raced into a 3-0 lead in just 10 minutes.
She polished off the first set in 26 minutes and although Sasnovich put up more resistance in the second, Paolini ran out a comfortable winner.
Paolini reached the finals of Wimbledon and the French Open in 2024, but her best result at Melbourne Park is the fourth round in the same year.