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Saudi National Team Postpones Advancement to 2026 World Cup Final Qualifiers

Saudi national team players celebrate a victory at the World Cup qualifications. File Photo/ Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi national team players celebrate a victory at the World Cup qualifications. File Photo/ Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi National Team Postpones Advancement to 2026 World Cup Final Qualifiers

Saudi national team players celebrate a victory at the World Cup qualifications. File Photo/ Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi national team players celebrate a victory at the World Cup qualifications. File Photo/ Asharq Al-Awsat

The Saudi national football team has postponed its qualification to the decisive third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
This came following a 1-1 draw with host Tajikistan in a match played on Tuesday evening in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, for the fourth round in Group Seven as part of the second round of qualifiers.
The Saudi national team opened the scoring with a header from Feras Al-Brikan after a precise cross from Mohammed Al-Brik in the 46th minute, SPA reported.
However, the home team applied pressure to equalize, which Tajikistan succeeded in through its player Rustam Soirov in the 80th minute, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
With this draw, the Saudi team raised its tally to 10 points, leading the group. Nevertheless, it still needs one point to officially advance to the final qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Tajikistan's team increased its points to five, securing second place in the group.

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Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
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Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.