MIAMI, USA: Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr next February in the Riyadh Season Cup for what could be the final showdown of the global football icons.
Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, who joined the US squad in July and sparked a championship run in the Leagues Cup against US and Mexican clubs, is expected to meet Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Messi, 36, led Argentina to last year’s World Cup crown and has long been a rival of Portugal captain Ronaldo, 38.
Inter Miami was named the guest international side and will join Saudi Pro League sides Al-Hilal and Al Nassr in next February’s Riyadh Season Cup, but no exact dates for matches at Kingdom Arena in the round-robin competition were announced.
Miami also features Messi’s former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets who combined for five La Liga crowns.
Ronaldo, a five-time Champions League winner, is joined by former Liverpool standout Sadio Mane and former Inter Milan captain Marcelo Brozovic on Al Nassr.
Al-Hilal features Brazil all-time leading scorer Neymar, who is recovering from a knee injury.
Last January, Ronaldo made his first appearance in Saudi Arabia following his move to Al Nassr with a Riyadh All-Star XI that lost 5-4 to a Paris Saint-Germain side featuring Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Sergio Ramos.
Messi’s Inter Miami to face Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in Saudi event
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Messi’s Inter Miami to face Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in Saudi event
- Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is expected to meet Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner
- Messi, 36, led Argentina to last year’s World Cup crown and has long been a rival of Portugal captain Ronaldo, 38
Ravaglia’s heroics propel Bologna to victory over Inter in Italian Super Cup semi-final in Riyadh
- The Bologna keeper makes a string of saves, including 2 during the penalty shootout after the game ends in a 1-1 draw
RIYADH: It was a night of shared football culture in Riyadh on Friday as Inter Milan and Bologna met in the second semi-final of the 2025-26 Italian Super Cup.
The traveling Inter support brought with them their color, drums and constant noise, which blended with the enthusiasm of the Saudi Inter fans to create a lively atmosphere inside the stadium.
The match began at a blistering pace, with Inter taking the lead within two minutes when Marcus Thuram powered home from close range after meeting a quality cross from Alessandro Bastoni.
The side immediately pressed forward in search of a second, with Ange-Yoan Bonny going close in the fourth minute after feinting past Torbjorn Heggem, but he dragged his effort just wide of the post.
After this early barrage, Bologna began to grow into the contest. Jens Odgaard led much of the offense, and goalkeeper Josep Martinez was called into action to preserve Inter’s lead.
The energy among the Inter fans continued to build as they jumped in unison and waved their scarves, urging their team forward in search of the elusive second goal. Their momentum was checked in the 34th minute, however, when a review by the video assistant referee resulted in a penalty for Bologna. Riccardo Orsolini stepped up to coolly slot the spot-kick past Martinez and level the scores.
Inter continued to push forward after the break as the game opened up, but there was no getting past Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia, who made four saves in the second half alone.
Hopes among the Nerazzurri of restoring their lead were raised when Bonny went down in the box in the 56th minute, only for the appeals for a penalty to be waved aside following a VAR review.
Less than 10 minutes later, the Inter fans rose to welcome Lautaro Martinez. Brought on in a triple substitution alongside Andy Diouf and Davide Frattesi, he made an immediate impact on the play but still his team was unable to find a decisive goal before regular time ran out.
In fact it was Bologna that came close to snatching a winner in injury time, but goalkeeper Martinez reacted sharply to make a crucial save. The final whistle blew soon after and, with no extra time in the Italian Super Cup, the match went to penalties.
The shootout began evenly, with both sides converting their first penalties before the goalkeepers intervened in the next two. Nicolo Barella then fired over the crossbar, only for Juan Miranda to similarly miss the target.
Inter’s struggles from the spot continued as Ravaglia pulled off his second save of the shootout, and then Jonathan Rowe kept his nerve to give Bologna the advantage. Stefan de Vrij converted his spot kick to extend the contest but Ciro Immobile struck decisively to give Bologna the victory.
They now face Napoli in the final at Al-Awwal Park on Dec. 22, after the Serie A champions defeated AC Milan 2-0 on Thursday in the first semi-final.
