JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s head coach Roberto Mancini has called up Al-Ahli’s defender Ali Majrashi for his side’s 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain on Tuesday.
After losing 2-0 to Japan in Jeddah on Thursday — their first defeat in the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup — the Green Falcons resumed training on Friday evening at their camp in preparation for the Bahrain clash.
The two Gulf national teams face each other at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.
It is believed that Mancini called up Majrashi as right-back Saud Abdulhamid will be unavailable due to suspension after receiving two yellow cards.
Mancini divided the players into two groups during training on Friday. The first group consisted of the players who had started the match against Japan, and they were assigned recovery exercises in the gym.
The second group included the rest of the players, who trained at the King Abdullah Sports City with warm-up exercises and passing practice. The players then went on to various tactical exercises and stretches.
The national team will continue their preparation program on Saturday with a closed training session at King Abdullah Sports City at 6 p.m.
Al-Ahli’s Ali Majrashi called up for Saudi’s clash with Bahrain on Tuesday
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Al-Ahli’s Ali Majrashi called up for Saudi’s clash with Bahrain on Tuesday
- Green Falcons resumed training on Friday evening at their camp
Hojlund scores twice for Man United to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Europa League, Tottenham held 1-1
- Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and veteran Pedro Rodriguez scored one each for Lazio in the second half to defeat Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam and move to the top of the standings with 16 points
- Anderlecht beat Slavia 2-1 in Prague to move into third place
Rasmus Hojlund scored twice after coming off the bench and Manchester United rallied to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Denmark striker netted in the 88th minute after collecting Bruno Fernandes’ pass off a free kick to seal the victory and put United into the top eight of the standings.
Hojlund replaced Marcus Rashford in the 56th and scored an equalizer six minutes later after Amad Diallo’s shot was deflected by goalkeeper Martin JedliCka into his path for an easy finish.
The 21-year-old Hojlund also scored twice in the previous round, when United beat Norwegian team Bodo/Glimt 3-2, and has five goals in his six appearances in the second-tier competition.
“It feels good to have scored two goals but I am more happy with the win,” Hojlund said. “My instructions? Go out there and score two goals! Just to use my qualities, run the channels and be assertive in front of goal.”
United had come off two straight losses in the English Premier League, 2-0 away to Arsenal, and 3-2 at Old Trafford to Nottingham Forest that left the club 13th and eight points adrift of the top four as progress looked slow under new coach Ruben Amorim.
Matej Vydra, who previously played for Burnley and Watford, opened the scoring three minutes into the second half.
United have 12 points from six games after three wins and three draws in Europa League play — good enough for seventh place.
The top eight qualify directly to the Round of 16. The teams placed No. 9 to No. 24 go into a two-legged playoff.
Tottenham continued to show inconsistent form in a 1-1 draw at Rangers, leaving the north London team in ninth place. The Scottish side is eighth.
Substitute Dejan Kulusevski was fed by fellow substitute Dominic Solanke to score 15 minutes before time and salvage a point at Ibrox Stadium.
Spurs were held 2-2 at home by Roma in the previous round and lost 3-2 to Galatasaray before. The draw came after losing 4-3 to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.
Hamza Igamane netted for Rangers at the start of the second half off a cross from James Tavernier in what was a return to Glasgow for Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou, who led Celtic for two seasons.
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and veteran Pedro Rodriguez scored one each for Lazio in the second half to defeat Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam and move to the top of the standings with 16 points from six games. Bilbao are level on points but in second on goal difference.
Anderlecht beat Slavia 2-1 in Prague to move into third place.
Lyon jumped to fourth by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2. The German team are fifth.
Among other results, substitute Sergio Peña equalized in stoppage time for Malmo to hold unbeaten Galatasaray 2-2. The Turkish club is sixth in the standings. PAOK routed Ferencvaros 5-0.
Roma showed signs of improvement by beating Braga 3-0 for a second straight victory that came after the struggling club earned its first win under new coach Claudio Ranieri, 4-1 over visiting Lecce in Serie A.
Braga goalkeeper Matheus received a red card in the 68th with the score 2-0.
Conference League
A youthful Chelsea lineup made the most of a long trip to Kazakhstan by beating Astana 3-1 to stay perfect in the UEFA Conference League.
Marc Guiu struck twice within five minutes early in the first half. The 18-year-old forward opened the scoring on a solo effort in the 14th and added his second after meeting a cross from Pedro Neto from the right in freezing conditions in the city of Almaty.
Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, has scored three in the competition.
Renato Veiga, who is 21, headed home the third before Marin Tomasov scored for the hosts late in the first half.
Neto was the only player to remain from the squad that beat Tottenham 4-3 on Sunday to move to second in the Premier League.
Chelsea have 15 points atop the standings of third-tier competition with one more game to play in the league phase.
Fiorentina crushed LASK 7-0 and Legia Warsaw lost 2-1 at home to Lugano. Swedish team Djurgarden beat Vikingur 2-1 in Iceland.
Holders Barcelona cruise into Women’s Champions League quarter-finals
PARIS: Barcelona wrapped up the last quarter-final berth in the Women’s Champions League on Thursday as Ewa Pajor netted twice in a 3-0 victory over Hammarby in Sweden.
The three-time European champions were effectively already through before kick-off, leading Hammarby by six points in Group D with two games to spare and with an all but insurmountable head-to-head record after thrashing the Swedes 9-0 in October.
But a fourth straight Champions League win since an opening loss to Manchester City mathematically confirmed Barca’s place in the last eight, joining City, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Lyon and Wolfsburg in progressing through the group stage.
“It feels amazing,” Barcelona’s Swedish international Fridolina Rolfo told uefa.com.
“I’m really happy that we’re here on Swedish soil and performing like this, winning away.
“It feels great, I’m happy to be back seeing my friends and family, and playing here in Sweden.”
Polish star Pajor pounced on some slack defending to slot in a seventh-minute opener.
She doubled the visitors’ lead five minutes before the break after a corner was completely missed by several defenders and Hammarby goalkeeper Anna Tamminen.
Women’s Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati completed the scoring with 10 minutes remaining with a deflected strike that dribbled past Tamminen.
Group leaders Man City maintained their three-point advantage over Barca ahead of their clash at the Olympic Stadium next week with a 2-0 win against St. Poelten.
However, City captain Alex Greenwood was stretchered off with an apparent knee injury.
Earlier, Arsenal kept alive their hopes of snatching top spot off Bayern in Group C thanks to a 3-1 win at Valerenga in which England striker Alessia Russo scored a brace.
Bayern stayed one point ahead of the Gunners before their meeting in London by thumping Juventus 4-0.
Roma defender Saud Abdulhamid makes history as 1st Saudi to score in European championship
- Historic goal came with Roma already leading 1-0 against SC Braga in the Europa League group stage
- Abdulhamid in August became the 1st Saudi player to join a top European side on a permanent basis
ROME: AS Roma’s right-back defender Saud Abdulhamid made history on Thursday after becoming the first Saudi player to score in a European championship when his club beat SC Braga 3-0.
Roma were leading 1-0 against their Portuguese rivals at Olimpico Stadium in the UEFA Europa League group stage when Abdulhameed scored his historic goal in the 47th minute, taking the score to 2-0.
Abdulhamid in August became the first Saudi player to join a top European side on a permanent basis, leaving Saudi powerhouse Al-Hilal to sign for AS Roma in Italy’s Serie A for a reported $3 million fee.
Since he joined the Serie A club at the beginning of 2024/2025 season, the 25-year-old defender has played five games — two in the Italian competition, and three in the Europa League.
Spanish defender Mario Hermoso scored Roma’s third goal.
21 players advance in LIV Golf Promotions, led by Korea’s Jeunghun Wang
- This group joins 28 exempt competitors for Friday’s reset second round, with the top 20 advancing to Saturday’s decisive 36-hole finale
RIYADH: A dramatic opening round of LIV Golf Promotions on Thursday saw 21 players secure their spots in the second round at Riyadh Golf Club, including Jon Rahm’s former college roommate, rising talents from Brazil and Hong Kong, and one golfer using borrowed clubs.
This group joins 28 exempt competitors for Friday’s reset second round, with the top 20 advancing to Saturday’s decisive 36-hole finale. The ultimate winner earns a coveted place in the 2025 LIV Golf League, while the top 10 will gain entry into all International Series events next year.
Korea’s Jeunghun Wang led the pack, finishing with a 7-under 64. His performance, highlighted by long putts and consistent play, put him atop the leaderboard.
“Some lucky shots went in, including some long putts, which helped me play well heading into tomorrow,” he said.
Close behind were five players tied for second on 65, while nine players shot 66. The final six players advanced by meeting the cutline of 4-under 67, leaving 43 others eliminated.
Among the standout players was 24-year-old Taichi Kho of Hong Kong, who carded a 6-under round featuring an eagle on the par-5 15th after a 355-yard drive.
Kho, who also advanced from the first round at last year’s Promotions tournament before being eliminated in the second round, emphasized the need to approach Friday’s round as a fresh start.
“Last year I couldn’t get past the fact that it was a clean reset after round 1,” he said.
“I remember last year I had a great first round as well, and I felt like I carried on some of those thoughts and feelings as I would do a regular tournament going into the second round, going into tomorrow, it’s important for me to just understand it’s a completely new day.”
Germany’s Max Rottluff, who shares a collegiate connection with LIV Golf star Jon Rahm, also shot 6-under. Rottluff credited Rahm for inspiring his career revival after nearly quitting golf in 2022.
“We still talk quite a bit and whatnot, so it would be a dream come true to join those guys,” Rottluff said.
“I was considering giving it up back at the end of ‘22, and I spent a week with him, and that really kind of straightened out my head and went out and won two times that year on the Challenge Tour, kind of went back on a better trajectory again,” he added.
South Africa’s Ian Snyman, another standout with a 65, relished the opportunity to reconnect with LIV Golf. A former Cleeks GC player, he said: “It’s exciting. It’s something we all want to be part of. I like the team aspect.”
Mexico’s Jose Islas delivered a remarkable 66 despite playing with borrowed clubs, as his own equipment failed to arrive in Riyadh. Islas, who turned professional this year, demonstrated resilience and adaptability, even holing an eagle shot during a practice round. “It’s not about the clubs, it’s more about how I thought the shots I was going to hit,” he said.
Brazil’s Fred Biondi, the 2023 NCAA Individual Champion, and Spain’s Luis Masaveu, a former US Amateur semifinalist, also posted bogey-free 66s.
The opening round fostered camaraderie among players, with Ireland’s Mark Power, Spain’s Borja Virto and England’s David Horsey advancing together after strong performances.
Veteran American players Bo Hoag and Ollie Schniederjans also moved forward, with Hoag expressing excitement about the prospect of joining LIV Golf’s global schedule. “I think it would be fun,” he said.
Dortmund to host Germany’s Nations League clash with Italy
- The match will take place at the 82,000-seat home of Borussia Dortmund on March 23
DORTMUND: Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion will host the second leg of Germany’s Nations League quarter-final clash with Italy in March 2025, the German FA (DFB) announced Thursday.
The match will take place at the 82,000-seat home of Borussia Dortmund on March 23, three days after the first leg at Milan’s San Siro.
In a statement, DFB sporting director Rudi Voeller said: “Dortmund is the perfect location for what is a football classic.”
Germany, who are in the Nations League knockouts for the first time, won their most recent game at the venue, a 2-0 victory over Denmark in the Euro 2024 quarter finals.
Unlike England’s Wembley and the Stade de France in Paris, Germany does not have a national football stadium, with games shared around the federal nation.