The Asian Football Confederation announced, on Tuesday, the rescheduling of the 2027 Asian Cup finals, scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia, to be held from December 23, 2027, to January 21, 2028, instead of its previous date, which was set between January 7 and February 5, 2027.
The decision came after coordination between the Asian Football Confederation, the local organizing committee of the tournament, and the Saudi Football Federation, so that the date of the next edition will witness a change extending by about a year from the previously announced timetable.
The local organizing committee confirmed its continued preparations and coordination with the Asian Confederation and all relevant parties, to ensure the presentation of an exceptional version of the continental championship, worthy of the status of Saudi Arabia and the aspirations of the Asian fans.
Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia is looking forward to regaining its balance in the elite AFC Champions League, when it receives its counterpart, Shabab Al-Ahly of the Emirates, on Tuesday, in the fourth round of the league stage for the West region, in an anticipated Gulf confrontation that brings together a team looking to compensate for its first continental loss, and another seeking to continue its ideal start and maintain its stumble-free record, after hours of ambiguity surrounding the date of the Emirati team’s arrival in Riyadh, and raising doubts among the Asian and Saudi Football Confederations. And Al-Hilal Club, before Shabab Al-Ahly announced its arrival in the Saudi capital, on Monday.
The hours that preceded the arrival of the Emirati team witnessed repeated attempts by the Asian and Saudi Federations and Al Hilal Club to contact the Al-Ahly Youth Administration to find out the date of the arrival of its delegation, without receiving a response until 1:39 p.m. on Monday, despite the arrival of a number of Emirati club administrators, the match observer, and the referees’ crew to Riyadh, on Sunday. Mystery also surrounded the fate of the technical meeting scheduled for three in the afternoon, before the Emirati club ended the state of anticipation by announcing the arrival of its delegation through its official account on the “X” platform, attaching photos of the arrival with the phrase: “We are in Riyadh... as we promised you, O Riyadh Al-Izz, we have come to you.”
Al Hilal enters the confrontation in fifth place with six points, after suffering its first loss in the tournament against Al Shamal of Qatar with a score of 1-3 in the last round, a result that halted its positive start and kept it away from the top of the standings, finding itself facing an important test to restore the tone of victories and strengthen its position among the teams competing for qualification tickets to the round of 16.
The Blue Team hopes to invest in the ground staff and the public to overcome its recent stumble, especially since the confrontation comes against one of the most stable teams in terms of results in the current edition, which forces Al Hilal to present a different performance than its appearance in the last round.
Al-Hilal had resorted to resting a number of its key players during the confrontation with Al-Shamal of Qatar as a result of the pressure of the matches, but the loss constituted a setback for the team that was accustomed to achieving victories, which is what it seeks to overcome against Shabab Al-Ahly.
Al-Hilal derives a morale boost from regaining the top spot in the Saudi Professional League, following its victory over its guest, Al-Fateh, with a score of 2-0, on Saturday, in the twelfth round competitions, in a match that witnessed Englishman Ollie Watkins scoring the lead goal in the 12th minute, before Portuguese Ruben Neves added the second goal from a penalty kick in the first minute of stoppage time.
Al-Hilal raised its score with this victory to 30 points, two points ahead of Al-Qadisiyah in second place, who played a match more, and Al-Nasr in third place, returning to the top of the local standings before shifting its focus towards the Asian confrontation.
Al-Hilal aspires to transfer the positive situation it is experiencing locally to the continental championship, especially since the victory over Shabab Al-Ahly will give it the opportunity to reduce the difference with its direct competitor, and make up for the points it lost against Al-Shamal.
On the other hand, Shabab Al-Ahly of the Emirates arrives at the confrontation sharing the top spot in the Al-Gharb region standings with its compatriot Al-Ain, with nine points each, after achieving three consecutive victories, to obtain the full mark for the first time in its history in the continental competition.
The Emirati team is looking for its fourth victory in a row, which will strengthen its position among the leading teams and confirm its ability to compete against the major clubs, after showing effectiveness during the past rounds in reaping points.
Shabab Al-Ahly realizes that maintaining their perfect record requires overcoming a difficult test against Al-Hilal, which in turn is looking forward to rehabilitating itself after its recent loss, especially since the Saudi team enters the match in high spirits after returning to the top of the local league.
The confrontation bears a special competitive character in light of the convergence of the ambitions of the two teams, as Al-Hilal seeks to reduce the gap with the leading teams, while Shabab Al-Ahly hopes to widen the gap with one of its most prominent competitors for the advanced positions.
The last meeting between the two teams in the last edition of the tournament ended in a goalless draw in Dubai, a result that reflects the size of the rivalry between them, even if the circumstances of the current confrontation are different in light of Al Hilal’s need for compensation, and the desire of Al Ahly youth to continue its victories.
The match gains additional importance in the calculations of the Al-Gharb region standings, as Al-Hilal’s victory will raise its score to nine points, equaling Shabab Al-Ahly’s tally before the round, while the victory will give the Emirati team the opportunity to move away from Al-Hilal by six points.
NEOM Saudi Arabia is looking forward to regaining its balance in the Gulf Club Champions League, when it hosts its Qatari counterpart, Al-Duhail, in the third round of the group stage, in an important confrontation through which the Saudi team seeks to compensate for its loss to Al-Shabab of Oman in the last round, reduce the difference with the leader of the first group, and avoid entering into complex calculations regarding qualification to the next round.
NEOM enters the confrontation occupying second place in the first group standings with three points, three points behind leaders Al-Duhail, which achieved the full score during the past two rounds, while Al-Shabab of Oman comes third with the same score as NEOM, while the Yemeni Hadhramaut people are at the bottom of the standings.
The confrontation is of double importance for NEOM, as it realizes that any new stumble may cost it to fall to third place, especially since the Omani youth will face the Hadhramaut people in the same round, and aspires to achieve its second victory in the tournament, thus strengthening its position in the race for the qualification cards.
NEOM had suffered a sudden loss against its host Al-Shabab of Oman with a score of 1-3 in the second round, despite taking an early lead with a goal from Greek Georgios Masouras in the 15th minute, before the Omani team succeeded in overturning the result with three goals.
Deben Duisberg scored two goals for Al Shabab Al Omani in the 42nd and 60th minutes, while Al Mutassim Al Muqbali added the third goal in the 55th minute, bringing the Omani team to its first three points in the tournament, and leveling with NEOM in the tally.
This loss raised questions about NEOM’s ability to maintain its progress and manage matches, after it failed to capitalize on its good start against Al-Shabab Al-Omani, which it seeks to overcome when it faces Al-Duhail, one of the most prominent competitors for the top spot in the group.
The Saudi team derives a morale boost from its recent victory in the Saudi Professional League over its host, Diriyah, with a score of 2-1, in the twelfth round competitions, in a match during which it succeeded in converting a goal deficit into a valuable victory away from home.
Diriyah had taken the lead with a goal from Senegalese Idrissa Gueye in the 17th minute, before Algerian Said Benrahma equalized for NEOM from a penalty kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the first half, then Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette scored the winning goal in the 68th minute.
With this victory, NEOM raised its score to 22 points, occupying fifth place in the Saudi League standings, and regaining the tone of victories before returning to the Gulf competitions.
NEOM hopes that the victory over Al-Diriyah will give it an additional boost to face Al-Duhail, especially since the team showed the ability to come back in the result after falling behind, a trait it lacked during its loss to Al-Shabab Al-Omani.
On the other hand, Al-Duhail of Qatar enters the confrontation with a moral and numerical advantage, after achieving two consecutive victories in the first two rounds, to lead the first group with six points, and is close to strengthening its position in the qualification race.
The Qatari team is looking forward to achieving its third victory in a row, which will allow it to expand the difference with NEOM to six points, and give it a great advantage before completing the group stage matches.
