Morocco and Egypt are about to play in the Olympic football tournament semifinals, with at least one of them will clinch a medal. The reasons behind the Arab success in the football tournament in Paris 2024.
(All the hours are in CET)
Amateur (Like this miss)
What? Al-Hilal – Al-Ittihad (Saudi Professional League)
When? Saturday, 18:45
Where? King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh
Why? When you talk about a real Arab Clasico, you can't miss this match. The two all-time leading Saudi clubs, each representing a different big city, will meet in one of the decisive matches of the season. Al-Hilal from Riyadh is in 1st place with 40 points, while Al-Ittihad from Jeddah is 3rd, four points behind.
Key Players: Al-Hilal midfielder, home-grown Salman Al-Faraj, is responsible for many of the team’s recent success, and plays for the first team since 2008. In Al-Ittihad everyone will focus on Gelmin Rivas, the league’s top scorer from Venezuela with 17 goals in 17 matches.
Foreign Staff: Since their first season in the Saudi top tier in 1977, Al-Ittihad appointed only one Saudi manager – Khalid Al-Koroni, who led the team for 6 months in 2014.
Professional (like this touch)
What? Guangzhou Evergrande – Jiangsu Suning (Chinese Super Cup)
When? Saturday, 12:35
Where? Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing
Why? After a crazy transfer window, Chinese football is getting ready for the new season with the Super Cup. Champions Guangzhou Evergrande will hope to have another great season, after they won the league and the AFC Champions League. FA Cup holders, Jiangsu Suning, formerly named Jiangsu Sainty, will show off their new cannons as they dream about first ever championship title.
Key Players: Let's forget about the expensive foreigners and check some Chinese stars. Gao Lin of Guangzhou Evergrande is one of the dominant local players with 13 goals last season. Meanwhile, watch out fot Jiangsu Suning midfielder Wu Xi, who became an integral part of the national team.
A Legend from the Past: The big money didn't skip the lower levels. In the Chinese third tier, Shenzhen Renren recruited Siniša Gogić, one of the all-time legends of Cypriot football as a manager.
World Class (like this girl)
What? North Korea – South Korea (AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament)
When? Monday, 11:35
Where? Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan
Why? More Olympic tournament spots are on the line, as just two teams will qualify from the Asian qualifiers in Japan. In the opening day we will see the Derby of the Koreas, both will try to catch the flights to Brazil on time.
Key Players: Keep your eyes on Ra Un-Sim, the captain of North Korea that led her team to win the East Asian Cup in 2015. Ji So-yun of South Korea is one the talented players in Asia, playing for Chelsea and was part of their first ever championship last season.
Don’t Dope: It's North Korea’s first chance to participate in an international tournament since the 2012 Olympics. They were excluded from the 2015 World Cup qualifiers after their players failed a doping test during the 2011 World Cup.
The Mexican League is ready to declare a champion, the U23 teams of Africa will crown a new titleholder and we will make a special visit to the Cambodian League.
(All times are in CET local time)
Amateur (Like this goal)
What? Pumas UNAM – Tigres UANL (Liga MX)
When? Monday, 03:30
Where? Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City
Why? Mexico will crown its first champion of the season in the final of the Apertura. The first match on Thursday ended with a win 3:0 win for Tigres. Pumas are looking to complete their perfect run after they finished in the 1st place in the regular season. Tigres finished 5th, but after their great victory they are close to winning the title.
Key Players: For Pumas, it’s Javier Cortés, who won the Olympic gold medal with Mexico in 2012 and has been playing for the club since 2008. Tigres’s biggest name is former French international André-Pierre Gignac, the team’s leading scorer with 13 goals.
Road to Glory: Bora Milutinović, one of the most fascinating managers in the world, used to play for Pumas and, after his retirement, he got his first job as the club’s manager. He managed the team for 6 years before moving to his next mission, the Mexico national team.
Professional (like this match)
What? Nigeria – Algeria (U23 African Cup of Nations)
When? Saturday, 20:00
Where? Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal
Why? Seven months before the Olympic tournament in Rio, Africa will see which U23 team is the best on the continent. Nigeria, the 1996 Olympic gold medallists, have qualified for their 7th Olympic tournament. Algeria have qualified for their 2nd tournament, their first since 1980.
Key Players: The leading player for Nigeria is Etebo Oghenekaro, a 20 year-old player from Warri Wolves, who leads the championship's topscorers list with 3 goals. The Algerian midfielder, Zinedine Ferhat, is dominating for his national team and has an important role at USM Alger, Algeria’s league leaders.
African Power: African teams always produce great performances at the Olympic Games, but one of the most famous matches was back in 1988. Zambia thrashed Italy 4:0, with an amazing hat-trick by Kalusha Bwalya.
World Class (like this goal)
What? Phnom Penh Crown – Nagaworld (Cambodian C-League)
When? Saturday, 12:00
Where? Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh
Why? The Cambodian League had an intense season and now it’s the 2nd leg of the final. In the first leg, Phnom Penh Crown won 2:0. Phnom Penh Crown finished the regular season in 2nd place and Nagaworld finished 4th.
Key Players: Phnom Penh Crown’s George Bisan is a 23 year-old Nigerian and one of the top scorers in the league with 24 goals in 24 matches. Look out for Nagaworld's striker, Kouch Sokumpheak, who has 43 caps for the national team and has now played with Phnom Penh Crown for 5 seasons.
A league of ministries: Back in the 80's, most of the teams' sponsors were government ministries, so among the previous champions you can find teams like Ministry of Transports FC and Ministry of Commerce FC.
