Saudi Arabia prepares for South Korea friendly at St. James’ Park

Saudi Arabia has held their training sessions ahead of Tuesday night’s friendly against South Korea at St. James’ Park.

Freshly under the tutelage of new coach Roberto Mancini, the Green Falcons will look to recover from last Friday’s 3-1 defeat against Costa Rica at the same venue as they continue their preparations for next year’s Asian Cup.

23-year-old centre-forward Feras Al Brikan, who started in last week’s loss, is reported to have missed the most recent training session due to a health problem – while Riyadh Sharahili’s period on the sidelines continues as he recovers from an injury.

The team’s session was overseen by the chairman of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation Yasser Al-Misehal as well as the organisation’s secretary-general Ibrahim Al-Qassim as they look to start some momentum ahead of their World Cup qualifying opener against Jordan in November, with Mancini’s men looking to qualify for the competition for the seventh time.

In what will be Mancini’s second fixture since his shock resignation from the Italy national team, Tuesday’s match will kick off at 5.30 pm with tickets still available to buy.