The curtain falls on the King Salman Cup for Clubs at the summit of Al-Nasr and Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia in the upcoming final at King Fahd Stadium in Taif on Saturday evening, as the two teams search for a happy end to their career in the tournament.
The tournament included 16 clubs in its final rounds on Saudi stadiums, before it resulted in an exciting final between two teams that the majority consider the strongest in the competition.
Road to the final
Al-Nasr started the tournament with a goalless draw with Al-Shabab Al-Saudi, then defeated Al-Ittihad Monastir, Tunisia, 4-1, before drawing 1-1 with Al-Zamalek of Egypt to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Al-Nasr overcame the hurdle of Moroccan Raja in the quarter-finals by defeating it 3-1, then won in the semi-finals against the Iraqi police team, to move on to face compatriot Al-Hilal in the final match.
The beginning of Al-Hilal was similar to Al-Nasr, as it tied negatively in the first round with Al-Ahly Tripoli of Libya, then lost in the second round of the Qatari Al-Sadd 3-2, before defeating Moroccan Wydad in the final round 2-1 to qualify for the quarter-finals.
The first Saudi confrontation for Al-Hilal team ended in its favor in the quarter-finals after defeating Al-Ittihad 3-1, then defeated Al-Shabab with the same score in the semi-finals.
Championship awaits
Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, the star and captain of the Al-Nasr team, hopes to achieve his first titles outside the scope of European football, and to lead his team to the Arab Championship title, after he failed to win any title in his first season in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo succeeded in winning 16 different championships during his career with clubs and the Portuguese national team, and the Arab Championship will be the first of its kind in Cristiano’s record of titles.
The Portuguese star will enjoy the support of Senegalese Sadio Mane, who has recently arrived in the ranks of victory from Bayern Munich, as the latter is looking for his first titles in Saudi Arabia as well.
On the other hand, you hope for new deals in the ranks of Al Hilal, such as Senegalese Kalidou Coulibaly and Portuguese Ruben Neves, who started their career with the blue giants with an important tournament for the fans.
Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr meet in the Arab final, coinciding with the start of the highly anticipated Saudi League globally, after the giant deals concluded by the clubs there, as Blue and Yellow seek to send a message to all competitors locally that they are the first candidate to win the league title.
early pressure
Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr will not only think about the final match of the Arab Championship, and the six million dollar prize that the champion team will receive, because they are facing an early domestic crisis.
It is expected that Al-Nasr and Al-Hilal will play the first round matches against Al-Ettifaq and Abha next Monday, 48 hours after the final match, which causes very early physical pressure on the players at the beginning of the season.
Neither Al-Nasr nor Al-Hilal want to lose the final, as well as stumbling in the first round of a long Saudi season that is expected to be the fiercest in the history of the tournament. Therefore, the coaches of the two teams will have to think about the opening round match in the league and the need to rotate the formation and changes during the final match.
2023-08-11 16:53:54
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