BERLIN: Ten-man Borussia Moenchengladbach snatched a last-gasp equalizer to draw 2-2 with Hamburg SV for whom Rafael van der Vaart scored his first goal since returning to the club but missed a second-half penalty in the Bundesliga on Wednesday night.
Alvaro Dominguez headed in a Juan Arango free kick in stoppage time to earn a draw after Van der Vaart, a crowd favorite at Hamburg after his first spell between 2005-08, drilled in a stunning shot from the edge of the box midway through the first half but struck his penalty against the post.
Artjom Rudnevs gave Hamburg the lead again on the stroke of halftime after Martin Stranzl, sent off in the 53rd for conceding the penalty, had leveled.
“It would have been a done deal had I scored the penalty,” Van der Vaart said. “After that I had the feeling that it could even all go wrong.” Dominguez’s late equalizer left Hamburg, who had beaten champions Borussia Dortmund last week for their first win, 14th on four points while Gladbach are 10th on six.
“I am satisfied because we played a very good game but a.m. furious for giving it away,” said Hamburg coach Thorsten Fink.
“We set the pace for 90 minutes and conceded two goals from set pieces.” Hanover 96 continued their stunning run to crush Nuremberg 4-1 with two goals from Ivorian forward Didier Ya Konan lifting them up to third on 10 points.
Hanover, who are also competing in the Europa League, are now unbeaten in 21 successive home games.
Bayer Leverkusen notched their first away win of the season, crushing Augsburg 3-1 to prove right team chief Sami Hyypia who said this week that recovery from a bad start was only a matter of time.
Hoffenheim continued their own recovery with their second successive win, beating hosts VfB Stuttgart 3-0 with Takashi Usami snatching an early lead and Joselu and Fabian Johnson also on target. Stuttgart, who have yet to win this season, are in 17th place.
Werder Bremen came from a goal down to beat Freiburg 2-1 with goals from Joseph Akpala and Aaron Hunt and score their first away win in seven months.
Bayern Munich opened up a two-point lead at the top after beating VfL Wolfsburg 3-0 on Tuesday. Borussia Dortmund dropped seven points behind on eight after squandering a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 at Eintracht Frankfurt who are second on 12.
Late goal earns Gladbach draw with Hamburg
Late goal earns Gladbach draw with Hamburg
Rocky 2025 for Green Falcons leaves Saudi fans anxious ahead of 2026 World Cup
- Herve Renard’s team secured a seventh qualification for the Kingdom, but the year ended in disappointment after the semifinal exit at the Arab Cup
RIYADH: Just over three years ago, the Saudi men’s national team did the unthinkable, defeating eventual world champions Argentina in their opening match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
As the 2026 World Cup approaches, with just under six months until the Green Falcons kick off against Uruguay, the contrast in sentiment surrounding the national team could hardly be starker.
The road since 2022 has been anything but smooth. While Herve Renard was head coach during Saudi Arabia’s memorable 2022 campaign, this is now his second tenure in the Kingdom. A brief spell under Roberto Mancini, one many Saudi fans would rather forget, saw progress stall on the road to 2026.
Despite significant excitement surrounding Renard’s in October 2024, the second chapter so far has failed to inspire.
A draw against Australia and a loss to Indonesia marked the beginning of Renard’s return, followed by an underwhelming campaign at the 26th Gulf Cup. Saudi Arabia did make it through to the semifinals, but for a nation that has not lifted a trophy since early 2004, supporters were desperate for silverware, even at the regional level.
There were signs of improvement at the start of 2025. Wins against China and Bahrain, alongside a draw in Japan, left the Greens one victory away from direct World Cup qualification — albeit requiring a favorable swing in goal difference after Australia’s last-minute win over Japan.
However, defeat to Australia, followed by another disappointing campaign, this time at the 2025 Gold Cup in the US, saw fans’ pessimism creep back in ahead of the fourth round of World Cup qualification.
A narrow win over Indonesia, coupled with a draw against Iraq, meant Saudi Arabia ultimately secured World Cup qualification for the seventh time. With the 2025 Arab Cup on the horizon, the Greens found themselves at a crossroads: Win the Arab Cup, and momentum heading into 2026 would be sky-high. Lose, and uncomfortable questions would resurface.
Saudi Arabia did reach the knockout stages, but once again, doubts remained. Renard’s trip to the US for the World Cup draw meant he missed out on the Comoros group stage clash, and that did little to ease concerns. Still, the Greens were three matches away from their first title in 21 years.
Palestine proved stern opposition in the quarterfinals, but Mohammed Kanno’s late intervention sent Saudi Arabia through to face Jordan, the 2023 Asian Cup finalists.
Jordan’s rise has increasingly unsettled the Saudi fanbase. Between 1970 and 2018, Saudi Arabia had lost to their neighbors just three times in 11 meetings. That has all changed since 2019, with Jordan triumphing in three of their last four outings against the Greens.
They would ultimately make it four from five, as a solitary second-half goal was enough to launch Jordan to their first-ever final, and disappointment once again took over the Saudi camp.
That result intensified calls for Renard to be sacked ahead of the World Cup. Rumors suggested his departure was imminent, but the Saudi Arabian Football Federation swiftly denied anything of the sort.
It is worth noting that Renard himself has already made history, becoming the first coach to lead Saudi Arabia to World Cup qualification in 2022 and remaining in the role for the start of the tournament. Should he remain in charge for 2026, he would also become the first to manage the team at two consecutive World Cups.
Yet while SAFF and Renard turn their attention to their next challenge, Saudi fans remain anxious.
Speaking to Arab News, local fan Ahmed Al-Bawardi said the issue extends beyond results. “It’s not so much about the results, but the national team’s identity,” he said.
“We don’t look like a well-oiled team on the pitch, and we don’t feel the same excitement as we did in 2022.”
Asked whether he would like Renard to stay, Al-Bawardi added: “Sacking Renard might solve some problems, but what we’re seeing is deeper than just bad tactics.”
Renard himself has repeatedly pointed to the limited game time afforded to domestic players in the Roshn Saudi League. Al-Bawardi responded with a sentiment shared by many Saudi fans: “The Premier League is the best in the world. How many domestic players start there?”
According to TransferMarkt data for the 2025/26 season, the Premier League has 544 players registered, 388 of whom are foreign — a staggering 71 percent. The Roshn Saudi League, by comparison, is still some way off — only 37.5 percent of the league’s players are foreign.
Balancing the national team’s development alongside the league’s rapid expansion was never going to be easy. Nor was switching managerial philosophies, only to return to one whose previous work was partially undone.
As Saudi Arabia looks ahead to 2026, unease remains among the fanbase. With a World Cup group that includes former world champions Spain and Uruguay, the road to the US, Mexico and Canada may still prove to be rocky.
