Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Sep 23, 2025

Amid jubilation of historic win, Saudi Arabia begin preparations to face Poland Saturday

Amid jubilation of historic win, Saudi Arabia begin preparations to face Poland Saturday

Amid jubilation that reverberates within the Kingdom and all over the Arab world following Saudi Arabia’s stunning victory over Argentina in one of the biggest shocks in the World Cup’s history, the business is as usual for the Green Falcons.
The Saudi national squad members resumed their hectic training session on Wednesday at Sealine Resort Stadium under the supervision of Coach Herve Renard in preparation for their second game in Group C of the World Cup 2022.

The Saudi team will meet Poland on Saturday, Nov. 26. The Green Falcons then take on Mexico next Tuesday, Nov. 29 in the last match. Leading the training session on Wednesday, Renard expressed satisfaction with the session.

The Green Falcons will continue their preparations on Thursday with a training session at 4 pm, as it will be open to the media in the first quarter of an hour.

Meanwhile, midfielder Riyad Sharahili, who had suffered a muscle injury, continued his special training, accompanied by the medical staff. On the other hand, the medical examinations for the Saudi squad’s captain Salman Al-Faraj revealed that he had an injury to the shin bone after he was forced out of the match with Argentina. Renard said on Tuesday that Al-Faraj will not play in the remaining matches.

Both Poland and Mexico are probably still favorites against Saudi Arabia — despite the upset. Renard, the architect of Tuesday’s historic win, was fully aware of this reality and he is so cautious about the toughness of the forthcoming matches. This was manifested in his comments in the post-match press conference on Tuesday.

“We made history for Saudi football and it will stay forever. This is the most important, but we also need to think about looking forward because we still have two games that are very very difficult for us,” he said.

Renard said he asked his players to limit the celebration after the game to 20 minutes. “That’s all,” he said. “But there are still two games — or more.”

Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, one of the star performers of Tuesday’s historic win, is also hopeful of continuing the winning streak against Poland and Mexico. “We have prepared ourselves. We were 100 percent ready and hopefully, we will have better results in the future.”

Al-Owais caught almost everything that came his way in the match at the packed Lusail Stadium and foiled numerous desperate attempts by Lionel Messi and his squad members to equalize the game in the last minutes. Despite trailing 1-0 at halftime after a 10th-minute goal from Messi, perhaps the greatest soccer player of all time, Saleh Alshehri and Salem Al-Dawsari managed to score a goal each early in the second half.

Many had expected the South American team, ranked third in the world, unbeaten for three years and among the favorites to lift the World Cup, to sweep aside its opponent, ranked 51st in the world and 48 places below Argentina in the world rankings.

Argentina dominated the first half and went ahead through Messi’s first-half penalty. But a stunning fight back from Saudi Arabia after the break saw Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari score in the span of five minutes to leave Argentina defeated for the first time since June 2019, a run of 36 incredible matches. It has been described as one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history as Al-Shehri and Al Dawsari’s brilliant quick-fire double secured them a huge win.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
×