Saudi Women’s League: Al-Ula beats Esperance by five

Al-Ula team achieved a broad victory over its counterpart, Esperance, with a score of 5-2, in the confrontation that brought them together on Friday in the Saudi Women’s Premier League, to obtain 3 new points and succeed in strengthening its score in the competition, while Esperance continued its series of negative results.

Al-Ula raised its score to 9 points from 7 matches, after achieving its third victory against 4 losses, to occupy fifth place in the ranking table, benefiting from its victory over Esperance, which gave it a new impetus in its journey in the competition.

On the other hand, Esperance's suffering increased after suffering its seventh loss in a row, leaving it without a point in last place, after it was unable to stop the series of defeats that had plagued it since the beginning of the competitions.

The team conceded 41 goals during its seven matches, compared to scoring 7 goals, bringing its goal difference to minus 34.

For her part, Lulwah Al-Obaid, a player for the Al-Ula team, confirmed that the confrontation was not easy for her team, despite the success in achieving victory and scoring 5 goals, noting the importance of the three points that the team got from the match.

Lulwah Al-Obaid said: “Praise be to God, the match was not easy, but we were able to get the three points and score 5 goals.”

Regarding the upcoming confrontation against Al-Himma in the Federation Cup competitions, the Al-Ula player expressed her optimism about the team’s preparation for the match, explaining that “preparations will continue during the next week, with the aim of appearing well in the next confrontation.” Lulwa said: “God willing, we will be ready for the Al-Himma match in the cup, and we will work to prepare for it well during the next week.”

On the other hand, Ajigbena Zakaria, the Esperance player, praised what her teammates did during the confrontation, despite the loss by three goals, noting that the team had a number of opportunities, but was unable to invest them in the desired way, stressing that the result of the match does not necessarily reflect the absence of attempts on the part of her team.

Zakaria said: “I would like to thank my team for what it did in today’s match. We played and had a number of chances, but in football anything is possible, and we cannot predict what will happen.”

The Esperance player stressed that the team is required to learn from the mistakes of the match and work to not repeat them in the upcoming confrontations, in light of the need to improve performance and return with positive results, stressing that making the fans happy is one of the goals that the team seeks to achieve during the coming period.

She added: “We will be careful not to make the same mistakes that occurred in today’s match, and we will work to provide the best performance to please our fans.”

With this result, Al-Ula continues its journey in the league with 9 points, while Esperance finds itself facing an increasing challenge to break its series of seven defeats and restore balance, after a difficult start that left it at the bottom of the table with a score of zero.

The name of German coach Uli Werner has returned to the table of Al-Ahly discussions, coinciding with the escalation of talk about the future of the team’s technical staff, in light of the club’s management not deciding its final position on the continuation of Dutch coach Marino Pusic, amid anticipation of a possible decision within the next few days, which may outline the features of the next technical stage.

Questions arise regarding the possibility of Al-Ahly management returning to opening channels of communication with German coach Uli Werner, who was one of the most prominent names proposed to lead the team last August, following the sudden departure of German Matthias Jaisse, before negotiations stopped despite what was reported at the time about their significant progress.

Werner had apologized for accepting Al-Ahly’s offer, despite the initial approval indicated in previous reports, and the financial offer, which was estimated at about 11 million euros annually, preferring to have a rest period and temporarily stay away from coaching work, which prompted the club to search for other technical options.

The renewed talk about the German coach comes at a time when the current technical staff is facing increasing pressure, following the recent results that raised questions about the team’s ability to restore its technical balance, and the suitability of the current training approach to the club’s ambitions to compete in local and continental championships.

The coach's file has become one of the most prominent files presented to the Al Ahly administration, especially since making a decision to change the technical staff is not related to the technical aspects alone, but rather extends to the financial obligations resulting from terminating the contract, and the potential cost of contracting with a new technical staff, in addition to the importance of choosing the appropriate timing to bring about the change.

While no official decision has been issued regarding Pusic’s future, attention is turning to the coming days, which are expected to see the picture become clearer, whether by giving the coach a new opportunity to correct the course, or moving towards a technical change that will rearrange the team’s cards before the resumption of competitions.

Current data indicate that the return of Werner's name to the forefront is based on previous negotiations, with no confirmation of resuming contacts with him or including him on the current list of candidates. The German coach’s position on starting a new experience in the Saudi League also remains an essential factor if the administration decides to reopen the file.

Last Wednesday, Asharq Al-Awsat revealed that the civil administration does not have complete conviction in the artistic work presented by Pusic, and that financial costs represent one of the most prominent obstacles to making the decision to change.

This puts Al-Ahly management before an important question: Will it return to the Werner option, which it had previously tried to attract, or will it turn to another name if the decision is made to end the relationship with Pusic?

Among the possibilities for change and continuity, the technical file remains the hottest within Al-Ahly club, awaiting an administrative decision whose features are expected to become clear in the coming days, amid a public desire for the team to regain its ability to compete and overcome the effects of its recent results.

The Saudi national team launches its preparatory camp in the Qatari capital, Doha. Starting from November 9 to 17, amid various circumstances, after the decision to postpone the “2027 Asian Cup Finals” re-arranged the priorities of “Al-Akhdar”, and put its Greek coach, Denis, in front of a longer period to build his team, after winning the “27 Gulf Cup” title.

It was decided to move the “Asia Cup” from its previous date, between January 7 and February 5, 2027, to the period from December 23, 2027, until January 21, 2028, in a shift that gives the technical staff additional time to build on the “Green” ranks and fill its needs with new players to include in the list, but in return it raises questions about how to invest this period and maintain the momentum that the team has gained after His Gulf coronation.

The camp comes at a stage that witnessed Donis continuing at the head of the technical staff, despite the news that spoke of the possibility of his departure after the “Gulf Cup”, so the Greek coach found himself facing a different task; Instead of entering into the final preparations for an imminent continental tournament, he can expand the circle of choices, test new elements, and work to build greater harmony before the upcoming competitions.

Donis chose 30 players to participate in the Doha camp, which includes two international tests. The first is against South Korea on Friday, November 13th, and the second is against Uzbekistan on Tuesday, the 17th of the same month, in two matches that give the technical staff the opportunity to determine the group’s readiness against two different Asian football schools.

The importance of the two confrontations comes from the fact that they are facing two teams that have a competitive presence at the continental level. This gives Donis the opportunity to evaluate his players’ ability to implement his technical ideas and deal with the requirements of international matches, away from the pressure of results associated with official tournaments.

The importance of the camp is not limited to the two friendly matches; The expanded list represents an opportunity to test the readiness of alternatives in various positions, especially with the absences that the team suffers from, most notably the absence of its captain, Salem Al-Dosari, in addition to the continuation of rehabilitation programs for a number of players who were injured during the “Gulf Cup.”

Hammam Al-Hammami, Alaa Al Hajji, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Hassan Kadish and Zakaria Hawsawi continue their rehabilitation programmes. This opened the way for other elements to obtain greater opportunities during the camp, which puts the technical staff to a test of the depth of the options available and their ability to compensate for those absent.

Among the most prominent names present on the Donis list was Abdul Quddus Atifa, the goalkeeper, who replaced Nawaf Al-Aqidi, who is continuing his rehabilitation program, as well as the addition of defender Abdullah Al-Khatib and Sultan Tankar, and the return of Musab Al-Jawir, who was excluded from the “Green” list in the Gulf Championship for administrative disciplinary reasons.

The list also witnessed the presence of Mohammed Al-Kuwaikbi, the Al-Taawoun player, whose name has been mentioned a lot in recent years, but without his presence on the list. Marwan Al-Sahafi and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi also attended, in addition to Turki Al-Ammar, names that used to appear from time to time on the “Green” list.

Donis' list saw the call-up of 3 goalkeepers: Muhammad Al-Owais, Hamed Youssef, and Abdel-Quddous Attia.

The list includes Saud Abdul Hamid, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Ali Lagami, Abdul-Ilah Al-Omari, and Mutaib Al-Harbi, along with Nasser Al-Dosari, Muhammad Kanno, Musab Al-Jawir, and Ziad Al-Juhani, while the attacking options include Firas Al-Braikan, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Abdullah Al Salem, Marwan Al-Sahafi, Muhammad Al-Qahtani, Sultan Mandash... and other players who were chosen by the coach.

This diversity gives Donis the opportunity to try more than one technical combination, and to determine the level of understanding between the players, especially since building a team capable of competing in major tournaments requires finding ready alternatives, and not relying on a limited group of names.

Postponing the Asian Cup poses another challenge for the technical staff, related to balancing between benefiting from additional time and maintaining the state of competition within the team. Being away from official tournaments for a longer period makes camps and friendly confrontations essential stations for measuring technical and physical development. Crowning the “Gulf Cup” also gives “Al-Akhdar” an important morale boost, but at the same time it raises the ceiling of expectations, and makes the technical staff required to turn Gulf success into a continuous work base, instead of being satisfied with the results of the past tournament.

In this context, facing South Korea appears to be an important test of the team’s ability to keep up with competitors with continental experience, while the Uzbekistan match provides an additional opportunity to evaluate performance against a different Asian competitor, which helps the technical staff determine the aspects that need development.

Between the continuation of Donis, the expansion of the list of players, the absence of some influential elements, and the postponement of the major continental date, the Doha camp is turning into a station for rearranging the Saudi team’s cards, and a test of whether the additional time imposed by the “Asia Cup” calendar will give “Al-Akhdar” an opportunity to build a more prepared team before returning to official competitions.

The most important question remains after the end of the camp: Will Denis succeed in exploiting this stage to expand the base of options and establish a clear artistic identity, or will postponing the tournament make maintaining the momentum of the Gulf coronation a new challenge for the team?