Football

Liverpool blip now becomes something deeper

The sight of the downcast and dejected Mohamed Salah trudging off as Liverpool desperately chased an equaliser against Manchester United was an ominous symbol of their current struggles.

If there was one player in recent Anfield history who would be backed to conjure up a match-saving moment of magic it is ‘The Egyptian King’, the spearhead of all Liverpool’s recent successes.

And yet there was Salah, replaced by Jeremie Frimpong moments after Harry Maguire had headed what proved to be Manchester United’s 84th-minute winner in a 2-1 triumph, their first at Anfield for more than a decade.

It inflicted Liverpool’s fourth successive loss, their worst sequence of results since 2014 under Brendan Rodgers, as what was portrayed as a blip now becomes something deeper when placed alongside the previous sky-high standards set under head coach Arne Slot in his triumphant first title-winning season.

“If you lose four times in a row, you need to be concerned,” Slot told Match of the Day. “We know how it works in football.

“If we keep bringing in these performances we will have a fair chance of winning more football games. Losing four times in a row definitely does something with the team.”

If they lose for the fifth time in a row to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday, it would be the first time Liverpool have suffered this fate since September 1953.

Liverpool even felt the frustrations of their own supporters on occasions, when build-up was ponderous and they looked short of ideas to penetrate United’s unyielding defence.

There were moments of ill-luck against United, Cody Gakpo striking the woodwork three times before equalising in the 78th minute.

Salah slashed unconvincingly at a golden opportunity, underlining the 33-year-old’s current lack of form and confidence, extending his run without scoring a non-penalty goal to seven games.

Doubting world-class players is always a dangerous occupation, but Salah has looked out of sorts this season, left out of the Champions League defeat by Galatasaray in Istanbul, then being substituted here with Liverpool trying to rescue a point.

Liverpool are currently a shadow of the efficient machine that strolled the Premier League last season, having looked vulnerable since day one this season in a Community Shield defeat by Crystal Palace at Wembley.

They are riddled with flaws, remarkable given the fact Slot was handed almost £450m to strengthen the newly-crowned champions.

And amid all the understanding that even stellar names signed in record-breaking deals such as £116m for Florian Wirtz and £125m for Alexander Isak require a settling-in period, the bottom line is that neither have produced anything near enough.

Isak was anonymous again, having been chosen ahead of the much livelier Hugo Ekitike, while Wirtz once again had to be content with coming off the bench.

Their proven quality will make Liverpool optimistic their massive outlay will be rewarded, but their contribution so far, at a combined cost of £241m, has not stretched far beyond non-existent.

“Arne Slot has a couple of decisions to make,” former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock told 5 Live.

“Szobozslai looks like the better right-back and suits going into midfield from that position, but does he like being there? No, but for the good of the team it would work better.

“Then Frimpong comes on down the right and has more of an influence in 10 minutes or so than Salah in most of the game. He put two exceptional balls into the box, and Gakpo should have scored from one of them. Ekitike did more when he came on up top than Isak did too.”

For a team that carried an air of calm laced with deadly threat last season, Liverpool now give off an air of chaos and a lack of organisation, especially in their defensive work.

Milos Kerkez struggled badly again, almost scoring an unwitting own goal with a rebound off his face in the second half, which would have summed up Liverpool’s defending.

The debate will continue about whether referee Michael Oliver should have stopped play when Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister lay prone nursing a head injury, inflicted accidentally by captain Virgil van Dijk’s elbow.

Instead, the game continued, Bryam Mbeumo taking advantage of Van Dijk reacting slowly to recover his position, finishing smartly past Liverpool’s deputy keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.

The lack of organisation is reflected in the statistic that Liverpool have conceded five goals resulting from set pieces in eight Premier League games this season. They did not concede any goals in that manner in the same number of matches at the start of last season.

Liverpool are open to counter-attacks at pace, while balls played in behind have presented problems all season.

It all adds up to the position Liverpool find themselves in, dropping to fourth in the table, four points behind leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool have too much quality to stay in the slump for long, but Slot has problems to solve, needing to get those misfiring superstars up and running while curing the problems that have been exposed this season.

“It’s an interesting time now, we have to stick together,” captain Van Dijk said after the game.

“We need to stay humble and stay working. When things get tough, it is important we keep the mentality of being there for each other. It is a long season.”

Football

Iran to boycott 2026 World Cup draw after US visa denials

Iran’s Football Federation has announced it will boycott the final draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after the US denied visas to several senior members of its delegation. The draw is set to take place on December 5 in Washington, D.C.

Federation spokesperson Amir Mehdi Alavi told state-run IRIB TV on Friday that the decision followed internal discussions and consultations with the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Foreign Ministry. He described the US action as “non-sporting” and said it left the federation with no option but to withdraw.

FIFA notified as Tehran protests decision

Alavi confirmed that FIFA, including its President Gianni Infantino, has been formally notified of the boycott. He added that world football’s governing body has promised to look into the matter with urgency, Xinhua reported.

Iran ready for fourth straight appearance

Despite the setback, Iran remains firmly on the global stage. The national team has already secured its spot in the expanded 48-team tournament, co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026.

This marks Iran’s fourth consecutive qualification and seventh overall, reinforcing its strong presence in Asian football.

Local media reports said the visa denials affected several top officials, including federation President Mehdi Taj. Only four members of the delegation — among them men’s national team head coach Amir Ghalenoei — were granted entry.

Taj currently serves as one of the vice presidents of the Asian Football Confederation and sits on several FIFA committees involved in competitions and men’s football governance.

Gulf News

Football

Globe Soccer Awards 2025 nominees announced as voting opens in Dubai

The organizing committee of the Globe Soccer Awards has announced the opening of public voting for the 16th edition of the awards, with the ceremony scheduled for 28th December at Atlantis The Royal in Dubai.

The current edition features around 15 categories, including nine open for public voting until 27th November to determine the final shortlists. The second round of voting will run from 3rd to 11th December to select the winners, based on public votes and the opinions of a jury comprising prominent global football figures, including Marcelo Lippi, Francesco Totti, Iker Casillas and Luis Figo.

The public voting categories include Best Player, Best Women’s Player, Best Men’s Club, Best Women’s Club, Best Coach, Best Midfielder, Best Forward, Best Emerging Player and Best Middle East Player.

Paris Saint-Germain is the most represented club on the nominees’ list after a standout season that saw the team win the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, Ligue 1 and the French Cup.

Eight of the club’s Champions League-winning players appear on the Best Player list, alongside several teammates competing for Best Midfielder, Best Forward and Best Emerging Player.

The Best Player list includes 25 leading international stars such as last year’s winner Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah.

In the women’s category, Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí of Barcelona aims to win the Best Women’s Player award for a third consecutive year. The list features 25 players, including several of her Barcelona teammates and five members of England’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2025-winning squad.

Arsenal, the UEFA Women’s Champions League winners, are among seven clubs competing for Best Women’s Club, while the Best Men’s Club category includes Paris Saint-Germain, Al Ahli Saudi, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Napoli, Flamengo and Pyramids.

The Best Coach nominees include prominent names such as Paris Saint-Germain’s Luis Enrique, Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca, Liverpool’s Arne Slot, Napoli’s Antonio Conte, Bayern Munich’s Vincent Kompany, Barcelona’s Hansi Flick, Portugal manager Roberto Martinez, Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta and Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe.

For the Best Middle East Player award, Cristiano Ronaldo competes against Salem Al Dawsari, Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino, N’Golo Kanté, Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney.

Tommaso Bendoni, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Globe Soccer, expressed his delight at Dubai hosting the event for the 16th year, noting that the city has cemented its status as a global platform for major sporting events. He said this year’s edition will once again honour the finest stars in football.

In parallel with the Globe Soccer Awards, LaLiga will honour the winners of its 2024–2025 season awards. The recipients include Raphinha for Best Player, Hansi Flick for Best Coach, Lamine Yamal for Best Emerging Player, Luka Sučić for Best Goal and Jan Oblak for Best Save.

WAM

Football

Al-Ittihad seeks redemption points… and a fiery clash between Al-Ahli and Al-Qadisiyah

The Saudi Professional League is set to resume after a third break this season that lasted nearly two weeks due to FIFA international days, as the Saudi national team held a training camp in Jeddah during which it played two friendly matches against Ivory Coast, winning by one goal, and against Algeria, losing by two goals to nil.

Al-Ittihad, after losing the derby to Al-Ahli in the round before the break, will face Al-Riyadh at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Friday evening, while the competition intensifies between Al-Ahli and its guest Al-Qadisiyah, and in Al-Rass, the derby between Al-Kholoud and its counterpart Al-Hazm will be held at Al-Hazm Club Stadium.

Al-Ahli and their guest Al-Qadisiyah will compete at Al-Inma Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City, for sole possession of fourth place, which Al-Qadisiyah currently occupies, one point ahead of the fifth-placed team that has 16 points.

This encounter will be repeated a week from now in the quarter-finals of the King’s Cup, but in the league, Al-Ahli seems refreshed by its recent victory against Al-Ittihad in the Jeddah derby and is looking to continue its winning streak and brilliance when it hosts Al-Qadisiyah.

Al Ahly’s latest training session took place amidst high morale among the players (club website)

Al-Ahli recorded a resounding victory over Al-Qadisiyah at the start of the season in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final with a 5-0 win, but the technical situation seemed to be in better shape for Al-Qadisiyah, which is led by Spaniard Michel Gonzalez.

Al-Ahli, led by German coach Matthias Jiesle, boasts a number of distinguished players in its ranks, and at the same time is aware that any setback means a significant departure from the competition for the league title, which would mean the team’s absence from the competition for the third consecutive season.

Al-Qadisiyah enters the match after a resounding victory against Al-Kholoud in the round preceding the break, and looks forward to moving forward and collecting three valuable points that will strengthen its presence among the leading teams before the long break.

The Saudi Professional League enters its fourth break after the end of this round of matches, but this time the break will extend until December 20 due to the Arab Cup tournament hosted by the Qatari capital, Doha.

In Jeddah, Al-Ittihad will host Al-Riyadh at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, as they seek to make up for their recent derby loss and return to winning ways in order to stop the points gap between them and the league leaders from widening significantly.

Al-Ittihad currently has 11 points and is in eighth place, 13 points behind Al-Nasr, but it is aware that there is room to reduce the gap and get closer to the leading teams.

Al-Ittihad lost their first match under the leadership of Portuguese coach Conceição, who took over the technical leadership from coach Laurent Blanc, and are looking to make up for it against Al-Riyadh, but they will be facing a team that took advantage of the recent break by changing the technical staff with the departure of Spaniard Calleja and the arrival of Uruguayan Daniel Carreño, who has extensive experience in Saudi football stadiums.

Al-Ittihad hopes to win against Al-Riyadh to provide a morale boost for victory in the next round of the AFC Champions League, after which they will have a tough match before the break against Al-Shabab in the quarter-finals of the King’s Cup.

As for Al-Riyadh, which is in twelfth place and has only 8 points, it seeks to deliver a morale shock after Carreno took over the technical leadership. The Uruguayan coach announced that the task against Al-Ittihad is difficult, but he will go for the win and return with the three points.

The competition is fierce between Al-Kholoud and its counterpart Al-Hazm in the Al-Rass derby. The differences between them are only three points in favor of Al-Kholoud, which is in tenth place with 9 points, compared to 6 points for Al-Hazm, which occupies fourteenth place.

This derby has gained media attention this time because it brings them together in the Premier League or the Saudi Professional League, and each of them is looking to record a historic victory.

Al-Kholoud is experiencing better technical moments despite losing 4-0 to Al-Qadisiyah before the break, but its results before that were very ideal. As for Al-Hazm, it also lost 4-0 to Al-Khaleej before the break, and before that it drew 2-2 against Al-Ettifaq, and it seeks to return to the path of victories and seize valuable points.