Saudis Face Lebanon, Palestine and Hong Kong Friendlies before Asian Cup

The Saudi team prepares for the 2023 West Asian Federation Junior Cup Championship.
The Saudi team prepares for the 2023 West Asian Federation Junior Cup Championship.
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Saudis Face Lebanon, Palestine and Hong Kong Friendlies before Asian Cup

The Saudi team prepares for the 2023 West Asian Federation Junior Cup Championship.
The Saudi team prepares for the 2023 West Asian Federation Junior Cup Championship.

Saudi Arabia will play friendlies against Lebanon, Palestine and Hong Kong before the Asian cup, which starts in Qatar next month, the Saudi soccer football federation said on Sunday.
All three matches will be held in Doha, Qatar, where the Saudi national team, led by Italian coach Roberto Mancini, will hold a camp from Dec. 31 to Jan. 11, Reuters said.
The Saudi team will play against Lebanon on Jan. 4, Palestine on Jan. 9, then face Hong Kong the following day.
Three times Asian Cup champions Saudi Arabia will play in Group F with Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Oman.
Qatar will open the Asian Cup against Lebanon on Jan. 12.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.