Marwan Al-Sahafi scores first Saudi Arabia goal as Mancini’s legacy emerges

Marwan Al-Sahafi scored his first international goal as Saudi Arabia drew on the work of former manager Roberto Mancini in a friendly against South Korea in Doha.

The Al-Ittihad winger opened the scoring in the first minute of added time at the end of the first half at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, finishing a well-worked move involving Abdullah Al-Hamdan.

Al-Hamdan, the Al-Nassr striker, played a precise pass through to Al-Sahafi, who rounded the South Korea goalkeeper before placing the ball into an unguarded net.

It was Al-Sahafi’s first goal for Saudi Arabia in his 17th appearance for the national team.

The 22-year-old was first called up in June 2024 by Mancini, when he was aged 20 and emerging as one of Al-Ittihad’s promising young players. Mancini handed him his international debut during a 3-0 World Cup 2026 qualifying victory over Pakistan.

Al-Sahafi subsequently joined Belgian club Beerschot on loan before returning to Al-Ittihad during the previous summer transfer window.

Primarily a right winger, Al-Sahafi can also operate on the left, the position from which he began the move that led to his goal against South Korea.

Saudi Arabia’s record against South Korea

Friday’s fixture was the 19th meeting between the two countries in friendly and competitive football, dating back to their first encounter in 1980.

Saudi Arabia had won five of the previous 18 meetings, while South Korea had recorded six victories. The other seven matches had ended level.

Saudi Arabia’s most recent victory came 21 years ago, in 2005, when they defeated South Korea home and away in the World Cup 2006 qualifiers, winning 2-0 and 1-0.

Since then, the teams have met six times without a Saudi victory. South Korea have won twice, while four games have been drawn.

This was the seventh friendly between the sides. South Korea had won two of the previous six, compared with one Saudi victory and three draws.

Saudi Arabia’s most notable success came in the semi-final of the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, when Talal Al-Meshaal scored both goals in a 2-1 win.

Their most recent meeting was in the last 16 of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, before South Korea progressed to the quarter-finals on penalties.

Saudi Arabia will play another friendly during its current training camp in Doha, facing Uzbekistan next Tuesday.