And that’s all for now! Thank you so much for watching this Saudi Super Cup match here on VAVEL. Stay tuned for the repercussions and tomorrow’s semifinal match! Thanks for watching, and have a good day!
After a long period of pressure in stoppage time – but only a yellow card for Brozovic as a relevant event – Al-Nassr holds on to the result with an extra player and is qualified for the Super Cup final, with goals from Mané and João Félix, while Bergwijn scored for Al-Ittihad, in addition to the red card for Mané in the first half!
We’ll have another seven minutes of stoppage time in today’s match. Immediately after stoppage time, we see substitutions for Al-Nassr, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Khaibari replacing Al-Hassan and Ângelo. And, due to an early confusion, yellow cards were issued to Al-Ghamdi and Wesley!
Al-Ittihad goes after Al-Nassr with another substitution, with Al-Mousa replacing Al-Ghamdi. Al-Ittihad, who spent the second half withdrawn despite having an extra man, is now trying to put pressure on Al-Nassr!
The game loses some of its rhythm in the final minutes. On the left, Al-Ittihad received a free kick on the left, which was taken into the box, and Al-Shehri headed the ball over the goal, sending it wide, a good missed opportunity.
Both teams are making changes at the moment. Al-Nassr’s Yahya and Coman left, with injuries, making way for Wesley and Al-Ghannam. Al-Ittihad’s Aouar, Diaby, and Bergwijn left, making way for Alobud, Unai Hernández, and Al-Shehri.
João Félix, with a pass in front, controlled the ball, beating the goalkeeper, and shot from almost the goal line, hitting the right post! Cristiano got the rebound and put it back, but Al-Ittihad’s defense managed to clear the ball away!
Brozovic, on the left, stole the ball and crossed for João Félix to control the ball at the edge of the box and strike hard into the right corner, sending it into the back of the net. BUT VAR called, the referee reviewed, and disallowed the goal for a foul by Brozovic on Fabinho!
Cristiano Ronaldo received the pass up front and sprinted unmarked, one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He rolled the ball into the middle, where João Félix was alone, sending the ball into the back of the net. The linesman on the field flagged for offside, but VAR reviewed the play and awarded the goal to Al-Nassr, who now lead!
On the counter-attack, Coman received the pass on the right, took off and crossed low to Cristiano Ronaldo, who arrived with a first-time shot, sending the ball over the goal, out, missing the chance to put Al-Nassr in front!
Al-Nassr pushed forward and tried to create danger, winning a corner kick, which was cleared in the box for Simakan to rise above the entire defense, heading powerfully over the goal! Even with ten men down, Al-Nassr started the match pressing high!
The players return to the field and we have the ball rolling for the second half of the match between Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, in this semifinal of the Saudi Super Cup, with all the plays and emotions in real time here on VAVEL!
In a very lively first half, Al-Nassr took the lead with a goal from Mané. Soon after, Al-Ittihad equalized with a goal from Bergwijn. And then, shortly after, for stepping on the goalkeeper, Mané was sent off, thus ending the first half!
We’ll have five more minutes of added time in the first half of the Super Cup semifinal. On the counterattack, João Félix received a pass in front and was brought down, earning a foul, and Fabinho was also booked for the foul. Cristiano Ronaldo struck powerfully, sending the ball over the goal!
Cristiano Ronaldo received the pass on the right, controlled it, and shot hard, but was blocked. He continued possession and attempted another shot, but was blocked again. The play continued, and Yahya received the pass up front, shooting hard, but was also blocked!
We’re seeing a clear drop in the pace of the game right now. The start to the break was incredibly intense, and no team in the world could maintain the game’s crazy pace. Al-Ittihad is trying to maintain possession in the attacking half, attacking Al-Nassr.
The game is heated, almost boiling, just like it is in Hong Kong, where we have a hydration break, with the ball already rolling again. After the sending-off, Al-Nassr managed to maintain possession in the attacking half, putting pressure on Al-Ittihad!
And Al-Nassr is in for a tough game! In a completely unassuming play, the Al-Ittihad goalkeeper came out to collect the ball. Mané was trying to get to the ball, but being marked, he was about to lose possession. As he stretched his foot, he ended up stepping on the goalkeeper. VAR reviewed the decision, and Mané was sent off!
Yahya, on the left, received the pass and delivered a powerful cross, with the ball going past Cristiano Ronaldo and reaching Coman on the right, inside the box, who struck hard, sending the ball over the goal and away.
Diaby, already inside the box, received the pass between the defenders and came face to face with Bento, but didn’t shoot, but rolled it back, where Bergwijn appeared to hit the empty net, tying the score for Al-Ittihad!
Yahya, on the left, received the pass and found Brozovic passing to the byline, who crossed strongly to the middle of the area, where Mané appeared to shoot first time, in the left corner, with Al-Shanqiti still deflecting, but with the ball going to the back of the net!
Mané received the pass on the left, raced into the box, and sent a low cross, which Cristiano deflected and Coman grabbed, but it went over the goal. Soon after, Bento went out to play, made a poor pass, and Benzema collected it at the edge of the box, shooting wide to the left of the goal!
The players take to the field and the ball rolls for the first half of the match between Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, with all the action and excitement of the match in this semifinal of the Saudi Super Cup, with all the action and excitement here on VAVEL!
Since 2022, the competition has been contested between four teams. In 2022, Al-Ittihad defeated Al Fayha 2-0 to become the champion. In 2023, they were defeated by Al-Hilal 4-1. And in 2024, Al-Hilal defeated Al-Nassr 4-1 in the final.
The Saudi Super Cup began in 2013, with eight editions between its inception and 2021, except for the 2017 edition. These editions were contested between the league champion and the cup champion. Al-Nassr won twice, in 2019 and 2020, while Al-Ittihad has twice finished runner-up, in 2013 and 2018.
Finally, today’s match will feature a high-scoring encounter. Al-Nassr has scored 90 goals in total, averaging 1.53 goals per game. On the other side, Al-Ittihad is doing even better, with 103 goals and an average of 1.75 per game.
Al-Nassr has hosted Al-Ittihad 29 times at home, winning nine, drawing nine, and losing 11 times. Al-Ittihad has hosted Al-Nassr 30 times at home, winning 15, drawing seven, and losing eight times. This will be their first meeting on neutral ground.
The two teams have faced each other 59 times in history, with Al-Ittihad winning 26 times, Al-Nassr winning 17 times, and Al-Nassr losing 16 times. This will not be the first Super Cup meeting between the two teams. In 2023, Al-Ittihad played Al-Nassr in the semifinals and won 3-1.
The other game of this Saudi Super Cup takes place tomorrow at 8 am between Al Quadisiya and Al-Ahli, to determine who will face the winner of this match. The Super Cup final takes place on Saturday (23), at 8 am, to determine the champion!
For the upcoming clash, Laurent Blanc will have the following names to use during the match: Mohammed Al-Absi, Mohammed Al Barnawi, Muath Faqeehi, Hamed Al-Ghamdi, Faisal Al-Ghamdi, Awad Al-Nashri, Abdulrahman Alobud, Unai Hernández, Abdulaziz Al-Bishi, Yassen Khalid and Saleh Al-Shehri.
For the confrontation soon, Jorge Jesus will have the following names to use during the match: Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Salen Alnajdi, Awad Aman, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Ali-Hasan, Ângelo, Mohammed Khalil Marran, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Meshari Fahad Al-Nemer, Saad Haqawi and Wesley.
With a 4-3-3 formation, Al-Ittihad is lined up for the Super Cup match later today and will take to the field to face Al-Nassr with: Al-Shamqiti, Shanqeeti, Danilo Pereira, Sharahili and Mitaj; Kanté, Fabinho, Diaby, Aouar and Bergwijn; Benzema.
With a 4-3-3 formation, Al-Nassr is lined up for the Super Cup match later today and will take to the field to face Al-Ittihad with: Bento, Boushal, Simakan, Iñigo Martínez and Ayman Yahya; Khaibari, Brozovic and João Félix; COman, Mané and Cristiano Ronaldo.
And let’s get to the decisive game here on VAVEL! The ball rolls soon in Hong Kong for the clash between Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, in this Saudi Super Cup semifinal, with all the action and excitement in real time from this match here on VAVEL!
Do not miss a detail of the match with the live updates and commentaries of VAVEL. Follow along with us all the details, commentaries, analysis and lineups for this Al Nassr vs Al Ittihad match here at VAVEL in this Saudi Super Cup Semifinal match at the Hong Kong Stadium.
Last but not least, today’s match will take place in Hong Kong, at the Hong Kong Stadium. Opened in 1994, the stadium has a capacity of 40,000 fans and hosted matches for the Hong Kong national team, as well as Eastern, the local club, but only between 2018 and 2019, in addition to occasional club or national team matches, as it will be today.
Al-Ittihad will be without Pedrag Rajkovic, who remains injured, and Hassan Kadesh is doubtful. They will go with: Al-Shanqiti, Al-Mousa, Pereira, Sharahili, and Rodríguez; Kanté, Fabinho, Diaby, Hernández, and Bergwijn; and Benzema.
Al-Nassr will be without Samo Al-Najai, who is still injured, and will field the following starting lineup: Bento, Al Ghanam, Alamri, Iñigo Martínez, and Boushal; Gabriel, Brozovic, and Wesley; João Félix, Mané, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Interestingly, Al-Ittihad is also the Saudi King’s Cup champion. In the grand final, played on May 30th, Al-Ittihad defeated Al Quadisiya 3-1. Benzema opened the scoring in the first half, with Aouar doubling the lead. Aubameyang pulled one back before halftime. Then, in stoppage time of the second half, Benzema scored again to seal the victory.
Al-Ittihad enters today’s match as the champion of the Saudi Pro League. With 83 points, Al-Ittihad won the competition, eight points ahead of Al-Hilal. Al-Nassr finished third with 70 points, five points behind Al-Hilal, two points ahead of Al-Quadisiya, three points ahead of Al-Ahli, and 10 points ahead of Al-Shabab.
Al-Ittihad, on the other hand, has three losses and one win in preseason. On the 23rd, they lost 4-0 to Fenerbahçe. On the 30th, they lost 4-2 to Fulham. On August 2nd, they lost 2-1 to Portimonense. Finally, on Monday (4), they won 5-1 against Leiria.
Al-Nassr comes into today’s match with their season opener having played four preseason friendlies. On July 26, they defeated SK St Johann 5-2. On the 30th, they defeated Toulouse 2-1. On Thursday (7), they defeated Rio Ave 4-0. And on Sunday (10), they finally lost to Almería 3-2.
