Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Sep 13, 2025

The loss of Al-Hilal ignites frantic race for Saudi Pro League title

The loss of Al-Hilal ignites frantic race for Saudi Pro League title

Saudi Roshn Pro League champions will have a historic opportunity to represent the country in the FIFA Club World Cup in December after Al-Hilal suffered a defeat at the hands of Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds in the AFC Champions League finals.
Saudi Arabia is hosting the FIFA Club World Cup in December this year.

The loss of defending champions Al-Hilal has ignited a frantic race among the leading clubs in the Saudi Pro League. The winner of the Pro League will get a golden opportunity to play in the Club World Cup.

By defeating Al-Hilal to an aggregate 2-1 score in the two-leg AFC finals, the Japanese team became the official representative of the continent in the Club World Cup after winning the Asian Champions title.

Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) stated earlier that Al-Hilal would participate in the Club World Cup if it wins AFC Champions League title. However, if no Saudi team wins the Asian title, then the Pro League champions will participate in the upcoming tournament.

The Saudi Roshn Pro League champions will also have the opportunity to participate in the Saudi Super Cup in 2023, in addition to the AFC Champions League in 2024, as the champion of the Saudi Professional League (SPL) during the 2022-2023 season, according to the regulations announced earlier by the Asian Football Confederation.

Saudi Arabia will host the 20th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup from December 12 to 22. Champion clubs from various continents will be participating in the tournament, in addition to the SPL champions during the current season.

Al-Ittihad team tops the SPL standings with 59 points, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr Club is in second place with 56 points while Al-Shabab comes third with 53 points. Al-Hilal is in fourth place with 49 points while only five rounds left until the end of the current season.

Meanwhile, Hiroki Sakai, Urawa Red Diamonds defender, was named the best player in the AFC Champions League, after leading his team to crowning the title, while Edmilson Junior, the striker for Qatari team Al-Duhail, was crowned the tournament’s top scorer award.

The Asian Football Confederation indicated, on its website, that Hiroki Sakai played a pivotal role in Urawa’s journey to winning the title, especially during the two final round matches against Al-Hilal, where the Japanese team succeeded in limiting the danger of the Saudi team. Edmilson Junior won the top scorer award with 8 goals.

The Belgian striker became the second player in a row from Al-Duhail Club to win the AFC Champions League top scorer award. His colleague Machael Olunga won the award in the 2021 edition with 9 goals.

Edmilson’s eight goals came in six matches during the group stage, including a hat-trick against Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan, in addition to scoring two goals against Saudi Arabia's Al-Taawoun and Iranian Sepahan.

Edmilson won the award even though he was unable to score a goal during the knockout rounds. Al-Duhail qualified for the semi-finals before losing to Al-Hilal.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
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
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
×