������Ƶ

HONG KONG: Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus expressed confidence in his players’ ability to lift the Saudi Super Cup when they face Al-Ahli in Saturday’s final in Hong Kong, despite the absence of star forward Sadio Mane.

“On Saturday, Saudi football will be exposed to the whole world, we are expecting to see two excellent and exciting teams, which is great for the game in the country,” Jesus said at a pre-match press conference on Friday.

“It’s a 50/50 match, but we want to win and return to Riyadh with the trophy.”

Spanish defender Inigo Martinez, who joined Al-Nassr from Barcelona this summer, said the team’s battling 2-1 semifinal victory over Al-Ittihad with 10 men had shown “a high level of fraternity.”

A La Liga champion last season, the center-back added: “I am really pleased and honored to have the chance to contest a final in just my second match for Al-Nassr. Our mission is to counter the aggression of our rivals; it will be difficult but we own the tools to win. Our team is ready; we’ll be united and adopt the same spirit as on Tuesday.”

On the opposite bench, Al-Ahli coach Matthias Jaissle said his side were fully focused on the small details that could decide the final.

“(Saturday’s) result cannot be predicted, but we must work on the small details in order to achieve our goal from the match, which is victory,” he said.

Acknowledging Al-Nassr’s heavy investment in recent seasons, Jaissle added: “They have made huge signings; you can just be realistic with that. They did an amazing job with a big budget. Therefore, it will be a huge challenge tomorrow.”

Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney said preparations for the match had been intense.

“The preparations were a bit crazy,” he admitted. “We will have a tough match against an opponent with distinguished players, especially in defense, but we will fight for victory. My teammates and I are fully prepared for this encounter.”

This year’s Saudi Super Cup is the first to be staged in East Asia. The tournament opened in Hong Kong on Tuesday, when Al-Nassr booked their place in the final with a hard-fought win over Al-Ittihad. Al-Ahli joined them with a commanding 5-1 victory against Al-Qadsiah.

Newcastle United’s wantaway striker Alexander Isak will not be in the squad when they host Premier League champions Liverpool on Monday, said boss Eddie Howe, who called the tense standoff a “lose-lose” situation.
Isak was the subject of a 110 million pounds ($148.34 million) bid from Liverpool earlier this month, according to media reports, and in a social media post on Tuesday accused Newcastle of breaking promises.
Newcastle responded by saying there had been no commitment to sell the 25-year-old who is under contract until 2028.
“There’s been no change,” Howe told reporters on Friday. “It’s a lose-lose situation. I don’t think we can come out of this winning in any situation.”
Should Isak still be under contract at Newcastle when the transfer window closes on September 1, Howe said he and the players would welcome him back into the squad.
“I have no doubt about how the players will feel. They will feel the same way I do. Alex is a fantastic player, he’s a good person, a good character and a good lad,” Howe said. “If Alex wanted to come back and play for us, the players would welcome him.
“100 percent I want to see him back in a Newcastle shirt.”
Howe said he has not seen Isak, who is not training with the team, this week, adding that conversation between the two has otherwise been normal.
“There’s no issues there. Of course it’s a difficult situation from both sides and it’s far from ideal for both parties,” he said. “When we bump in to each other, we speak but as I say I’ve not seen him this week as he’s training later on and detached from the group.”
When asked about the public statements from Isak and the club earlier this week, the manager said he prefers that “it doesn’t happen publicly.”
“Everything is better dealt with behind closed doors but in this situation, needs must and in this situation the club has spoken and justifiably so in that moment,” he added.
Howe is confident Newcastle’s supporters could forgive Isak if he comes back into the team.
“The supporters will always react off how a player plays and what he gives the team,” Howe said. “There is always two sides to every story.”