The Fifth Failure: A Home Cup Curse Haunts Al Nassr in the King’s Cup
29 October 2025
First Park Stadium, once a yellow fortress meant to shield Al Nassr and secure home-ground advantage, has become a stage where their recurring disappointments in the King’s Cup replay themselves.
Despite a string of positive results across competitions, the cup chase remains stubbornly elusive, and the team has exited the tournament for the fifth time in six editions on the same ground.
The Riyadh-based side bowed out again on Tuesday night after a 1-2 defeat to Al Ittihad on First Park’s surface in the quarterfinals.
Since Al Nassr embraced First Park as its official home in late 2020 under a ten-year deal with the Saudi Media Company, the venue has become a standout training and competition hub in the league and continental play, but in the King’s Cup it has worn the face of defeat and elimination.
Details of the Fall: The Repeated Exits
While Al Nassr continues to chase its first King’s Cup title since 1990, the club has suffered five painful home defeats, adding a fresh chapter to a saga of ongoing frustration.
2021-2026: A Decade of Home Heartbreak
2021: They exited at home to Al Faisaly in the semi-finals after Julio Tavarez struck the winner, sending the underdog to a first cup final in its history.
2022: The quarterfinal collapse came when Al Hilal overturned a first-half lead to win 2-1, despite an early goal from Talisca, with Odion Ighalo and Salem Al-Dawsari providing the late returns.
2023: Al Wehda crushed the chance to reach the final, losing 1-0 in the semi-final.
2025: In the 2024-25 edition, Al Taawoun eliminated the hosts 1-0 in the quarterfinals, ending the campaign there.
2026: The latest blow came as Al Ittihad beat them 2-1, despite a man advantage after two red cards in the 49th minute; Benzema’s early strike (15) stunned the crowd, Angelo equalized (30), and Hossam Awwar sealed the visitors' win before halftime.
Jorge Jesus and the Cup Hex
The curse even shadowed coach Jorge Jesus, who has struggled to overcome Al Ittihad in King’s Cup knockout ties in the last two seasons. Though he has a strong overall record against Al Ittihad in other competitions, Cup clashes tend to end in elimination.
Last season, then in charge of Al Hilal, Jesus saw his side fall to Al Ittihad in the quarterfinals on penalties after a 2-2 draw; this season, now with Al Nassr, he faced them again in the round of 16 and was defeated 2-1, renewing the hex. Across all competitions, Jesus has 11 wins and 3 losses in 14 meetings with Al Ittihad, with two of the losses coming in the King’s Cup. Yet the Cup did yield a notable exception: a 2-1 semi-final win over Al Ittihad in 2023-2024 with Al Hilal, the lone Cup success against the foe in this stretch.
And so the Cup remains a test of nerves, not a trophy case, for the two giants and for their wily tacticians alike.
Punchline 1: If curses were goals, Al Nassr would be top of the league—just not in the King’s Cup.
Punchline 2: The yellow fortress keeps giving punchlines, but the scoreboards aren’t laughing back anytime soon.
