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Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Who will Saudi Arabia play at the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup?
The draw for the 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup has been made, with Saudi Arabia discovering its opponents for the tournament – which will be played in Chile between September 27 and October 19. It will be the first time that Saudi Arabia has competed in the global competition since 2019, after the 2021 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Green Falcons failed to qualify in 2023. But having finished as runner-up to Australia at the AFC U20 Asian Cup in China in April, Marcos Soares' side will be among the participants again at this year's edition in Chile. Saudi Arabia's team is expected to be led again by prodigious Al Ittihad youngsters Talal Haji and Farnah al-Shamrani, who played on loan at Al Riyadh and Al Kholood respectively in the Saudi Pro League this season. In Chile, Saudi Arabia will face Colombia, Norway and Nigeria in Group F, with all three of the Green Falcons' group stage matches taking place in the Estadio Fiscal de Talca – around 250 km south of the Chilean capital Santiago. Here, Al Arabiya English takes a closer look at Saudi Arabia's opponents at the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup. Colombia Colombia earned its spot in Chile after finishing third in the 2025 South American U20 Championship. While most confederations use a traditional knockout tournament format, in South America the continental championship is played across two group stages. Colombia – coached by Cesar Torres – topped its first group, drawing with Argentina before beating Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil. In the final stage, Torres' side claimed convincing wins against Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay, but narrowly lost 1-0 to Argentina and eventual champion Brazil. Colombia's squad has a mix of domestic and international-based players –with the likes of Keimer Sandoval (Real Betis), Oscar Perea (Strasbourg). Yeimar Mosquera (Aston Villa) and Alexei Rojas (Arsenal) playing in Europe. Center-back Mosquera is looking to follow in the footsteps of Jhon Duran at Villa, with his compatriot having starred in the Premier League before making a record move to Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr earlier this January. The star of this team, however, is Néiser Villarreal. The 20-year-old midfielder plays for one of Colombia's most iconic clubs, Bogota's Millonarios, and won the 2025 South American U20 Championship Golden Boot with eight goals in nine matches. That included an eye-catching hat-trick against Paraguay for Villarreal, who also contributed four assists at the tournament. Colombia is a three-time continental champion at U20 level, most recently winning the title in 2013, and it has reached the quarter-finals of the past two FIFA U20 World Cups, losing to Italy in 2023 and Ukraine in 2019. Its best ever finish on the global stage was third place, achieved in 2003 in the UAE, with a team that included future internationals Fredy Guarin, Abil Aguilar and Yulian Anchico. When Saudi Arabia and Colombia meet in their opening match on September 29, it will be the first time they have competed against each other at the FIFA U20 World Cup. At senior level, the two nations have only played three previous matches – with Colombia winning their most recent friendly 1-0 in June 2022. Nigeria Saudi Arabia will take on Nigeria for the third time at the FIFA U20 World Cup, in the second Group F game on October 2. The two nations first battled it out in 1989 when what was then known as the FIFA World Youth Championships was held in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia faced Nigeria in its opening game but despite taking the lead, succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to the Super Eagles. One of the scorers that day was Mutiu Adepoju, who went on to play for Al Ittihad. That Super Eagles side was just one-game from history in Saudi Arabia, finishing as runner-up to Portugal in the final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Had it won, it would have become the first African side to win the tournament – an honor that eventually went to Ghana in 2009. Saudi Arabia and Nigeria also played each other in the 2011 tournament, which was held in Colombia. Goals from Ahmed Musa and Olarenwaju Kayode gave Nigeria a 2-0 win, with Musa also coincidentally going on to play his football in the Kingdom with Al Nassr. Both sides made it through Group D, with Saudi Arabia going on to lose to Brazil in the next round, while Nigeria beat England before losing to France in the quarter-finals. At senior level, there have only been two previous contests, a 0-0 draw in 2010 and a 2-2 draw in October 2023. Nigeria has a rich history at youth level and is a record seven-time winner of the CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations – though it hasn't won the trophy since 2015. As well as reaching the 1989 FIFA U20 World Cup final, Nigeria also finished second in 2005 after having the misfortune of facing an Argentina team led by Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi in the final. Messi scored twice in a 2-1 win over the Super Eagles. The current Nigeria team, coached by Aliyu Zubairu, relies on a number of players still based in West Africa. Defender Daniel Bameyi has already made his senior debut for the Super Eagles, while there are high hopes for Precious Benjamin and Emmanuel Shukwu, who are both in the youth system at German Bundesliga side Hoffenheim. The FIFA U20 World Cup has consistently been a great shop window for Nigerian players, with the likes of Daniel Daga, Solomno Agbalaka, Benjamin Fredrick, Jude Sunday and Samson Lawal all earning moves to Europe after the 2023 tournament. Nigeria won its place at the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup after finishing in third place at the 2023 U20 Africa Cup of Nations – recovering from a surprise semi-final defeat to Gambia to beat Tunisia 4-0 in the third-place playoff. Ahmed Abdullahi was one of the Super Eagles' strongest performers and is currently playing for newly-promoted English Premier League club Sunderland. Norway Saudi Arabia and Norway last faced off at the FIFA U20 World Cup back in 1993, sharing a 0-0 draw in their group stage encounter in Adelaide as neither team made it through to the knockout stage of the tournament Down Under. They will play again 22 years later in the final Group F match in Chile on October 5. At senior level, there has only been one previous meeting between Norway and Saudi Arabia, with the former winning 6-0 in a friendly match in 1998; Manchester United striker – and future Red Devils manager – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored twice. On its last appearance at the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2019, Norway made history by recording the biggest win in the tournament's history. That 12-0 thrashing of Honduras was notable for current Manchester City star Erling Haaland bagging a triple hat-trick – becoming the first player to score nine goals in one match for a national team at a major tournament. He unsurprisingly finished as the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup's top scorer, though surprisingly failed to add any more goals as Norway was eliminated at the group stage thanks to defeats to Uruguay and New Zealand. Norway – led by coach Pal Arne Johansen – qualified for the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup after finishing third in its group at the 2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. That meant a one-off play-off against Turkey, which Norway won 10-9 in an astonishing penalty shootout after the teams had drawn 1-1. Norway successfully converted every single one of its spot-kicks. The 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile will be Norway's fourth time at the tournament but it has only won two of its nine games – suffering elimination at the group stage in all three of its previous appearances in 1989, 1993 and 2019. Norway's team is likely to feature many of the same players who played at last summer's UEFA U19 European Championship. That includes highly-rated Travis Hernes, the Jamaican-born midfielder who was signed by English Premier League club Newcastle United in 2023 and played on loan for Danish Superliga club AaB in the 2024-25 season. Fellow midfielder Benjamin Faraas was developed in the highly-rated youth system of Belgian side Club Brugge, while the rest of the squad is made up of players from Norway's top clubs – including Rosenborg and Molde.
Al Arabiya
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Exclusive Marcos Soares focused on FIFA U20 World Cup after Saudi Arabia's Asian silver
After returning home from China with an AFC U20 Asian Cup silver medal, the first in-person congratulations that Saudi Arabia coach Marcos Soares received was a fitting one. Back in the Kingdom, and straight back to the gym near his Riyadh home, Soares bumped into senior national team coach Herve Renard. The Frenchman, who worked with Soares during his first spell in charge of the Green Falcons, was full of praise for Saudi Arabia's youngsters after they narrowly lost the U20 Asian Cup final to Australia on penalties. 'Herve and I spoke about the tournament and of course he had watched all the games,' Soares told Al Arabiya English in an exclusive interview. 'He is a great guy and he knows we have some talents but of course it is difficult to promote players at the moment because the [senior] team has the pressure of the World Cup qualifying. For more Saudi sports news, visit our dedicated page. 'We must be patient but these conversations are ongoing of course – about the players who could make the step up to his team in the future. We have a very good relationship and his feeling is like mine about this tournament. 'I am so proud of my team because we have been working so hard to achieve something. I didn't work alone and I have to thank my staff too – they are brilliant.' The dramatic final shootout in the may not have gone Saudi Arabia's way but the runner-up finish was the country's best performance in the competition in seven years. It also meant that the Green Falcons qualified for this September's FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, with each of the U20 Asian Cup semi-finalists awarded a place at the tournament. 'The main target was to qualify for the World Cup and that day was amazing when we beat China in the quarter-final,' Soares explained. 'We played in a full stadium, with all the crowd supporting China throughout the game and a very good opposition with amazing players. But we did it. 'It means everything to reach [the U20 World Cup] because I was working at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil as part of the Iranian delegation but now I will be on the field working as the coach. Playing a World Cup in South America with teams like Brazil, Italy, France, Argentina will be very special and I hope we can make it to the knockout stage. 'I will prepare the team very well and then we will try to fight for a place in the second round. That will be amazing. We need to dream but we need to understand that it will not be easy. The level is very high. But mentally I believe we are prepared.' Soares guided Saudi Arabia to victory at the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U19 Championship last summer; since then the Kingdom has had confirmation it will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup and the Brazilian coach has noticed a shift in expectations. This is because the players who Soares calls on could be the ones who form the backbone of the Green Falcons team nine years from now. 'I believe the talent is there,' Soare said. 'We have many players who have improved a lot over the past year and I hope they can understand if they want to keep the level that they must work a lot. It's very hard to arrive at that level and to maintain it is also very difficult. 'I am sure we're going to have a few players from our team in the senior team in a few years. This is the normal path and I hope they can be strong mentally to understand what is needed to step up and play for Saudi Arabia – especially at a home World Cup. 'I feel that this is my land now and everything that I'm doing here is to help Saudi Arabia. Everyone at the [Saudi Football] Federation is supporting us a lot to achieve something.' Among the many Saudi players who made a positive impact at the U20 Asian Cup was 19-year-old Bassam Hazzazi. The Al Nassr midfielder suffered the heartbreak of missing the crucial spot-kick in the final penalty shootout, but Soares insists it shouldn't detract from his displays in China. 'Football can be a funny game because in my opinion he was our best player in the tournament and then he missed the penalty,' Soares said. 'It is not the first time this has happened – I remember when Roberto Baggio and Franco Baresi missed for Italy [to lose to Brazil] in the 1994 World Cup final. This is football. 'But Bassam is very strong mentally. He's always playing with a smile on his face, even if everybody is stressing around him. Of course he was sad to miss the penalty but all his team-mates talked to him afterwards and tried to make him feel better. 'Although it can seem like it is your fault when you are the one who misses, the reality is that you don't lose a match just by one penalty – there are many factors.' Hazzazi was not the only player to miss a penalty at the tournament China, with defender Saleh Barnawi also failing to score in the semi-final. Despite this, the Al Hilal defender showed admirable spirit to volunteer again to take a spot-kick in the final. Barnawi is another player who has impressed Soares, who worked with him previously in the youth team of Al Hilal, where he was appointed captain by his now national team coach. 'He is the best player we have in terms of ability to read the game,' Soares said of Barnawi. 'He's not so big for a center-back but he is such a smart player and can read the game very fast. His decision making is very good and he is very strong mentally. 'Nothing changed when he missed the penalty and in the final, he was the first time to volunteer. I trust him and as a coach it is great to have players like this who you have worked with before – who you can build the tactics around. They make my job easier.' While Soares could – and would – wax lyrical about all of his players, the Brazilian coach reserved special praise for his goalkeeper Hamed al-Shanqity. The teenage Al Ittihad shot-stopper kept three clean sheets in six matches and was officially named Best Goalkeeper at the U20 Asian Cup by AFC observers. Soares feels al-Shanqity has all the attributes necessary to make it to the very top of the game. 'Hamed is an amazing player – you cannot believe what he does sometimes. And he has still never played a competitive [senior] first-team game in his life – this surprises me. He plays very well with his hands and he is a strong character too. 'He never has any fear and even if he makes a mistake, nothing changes. He is one of my leaders in this team and I have no doubts he could play now in Manchester City or Barcelona or Real Madrid. He's really one of the main reasons that we reached the Asian Cup final.' Soares said the next step is for his Saudi starlets to be given more game time by their Saudi Pro League clubs, or to seek opportunities elsewhere if those chances don't arrive. 'This [more Pro League] minutes would help us a lot. But also I understand the teams have older players and foreign players who perform very well. It's not easy to go and play there. 'But one of our players Saad Haqawi made an amazing assist to Cristiano Ronaldo last month when he was given a chance. It's an amazing environment there at Al Nassr and I hope there will be more opportunities. 'Of course we also understand that the teams need to win and that doesn't always mean they can give time to the young players. Maybe also a few of my players should go abroad to try different experiences. I believe in the next few months such things are going to happen.'
