Saudi Arabia Edge Palestine to Secure Arab Cup Semifinal Spot (With a Twist in the Schedule)

Key Moments as Saudi Arabia Books Semifinal Spot

Firas Al-Bariqan, a Saudi national team player, expressed deep happiness after the Green reached the Arab Cup semifinals with a 2-1 victory over Palestine.

In post-match remarks, he said: "Congratulations to the Saudi people and better luck to the Palestinian people. We knew the match would be tough from the start."

He added: "The goal came from a mistake, but we managed to score the winner in extra time, and we must think about the next fixture."

Al-Bariqan concluded: "The most important thing is qualifying for the next round; the tournament is tough and there are no easy matches in the Arab Cup."

Saudi Arabia defeated Palestine to reach the semifinals and will await the winner of the Jordan vs Iraq clash.

Schedule Shifts Shake Up the Calendar

The Saudi Pro League's governing body announced that Round 10 fixtures for the 2025-2026 season have been postponed. They will now be played between February 22 and 25, 2026, instead of the prior window in December.

The Saudi Football Federation also adjusted the King Cup semifinals, moving them to March 16-17, 2026, from the previously scheduled dates in late February.

Punchline 1: If defending were an art, Palestine must have hired a wall painter—yet the gap still found the attacker anyway.

Punchline 2: They say in football there are no easy matches in the Arab Cup; apparently even my morning coffee has a tougher time waking up than the defense does.