Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Saudi Arabia loses to Croatia 0-1 in Riyadh friendly match ahead of World Cup

Saudi Arabia loses to Croatia 0-1 in Riyadh friendly match ahead of World Cup

The Saudi national team lost to its Croatian counterpart, the defending World Cup runners-up, 0-1 on Wednesday, at the end of their preparations for the Qatar World Cup 2022, which kicks off on Sunday, Nov. 20.
In the friendly match held at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, the Green Falcons demonstrated their best ever performance of the year, boosting their morale and confidence ahead of the squad’s travel to Qatar.

The Saudi team gave a strong fight to Croatia and was successful in foiling the European team’s attempts to score goals up to the last 10 minutes of the match. The match witnessed the only goal at the 82nd minute by Andrej Kramaric, Croatia’s striker from the German Hoffenheim club, scored the goal, with the assistance of Luka Modric, the Spanish star of Real Madrid.

Fed by Modric on the left, Kramaric’s low shot ended up in the right-hand side of the goalpost. Kramaric’s goal came eight minutes after his goal from close range that was ruled out for offside at the 74th minute of the match.

The Green Falcons, playing the World Cup for the sixth time, will meet Argentina in the opening game of Group C on Tuesday, Nov. 22. The other countries in the group are Poland and Mexico.

Croatia will begin their World Cup journey by meeting Morocco in Group F on Wednesday and other countries in the group are Belgium and Canada.

Green Falcons continued their practice at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh under the supervision of Coach Herve Renard, from Monday as part of the fourth and final phase of the preparatory program for the FIFA World Cup.

During their practice sessions in Abu Dhabi earlier, the team played five friendly matches against the teams of Macedonia, Albania, Honduras, Iceland, and Panama.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
×