One of Saudi Arabia's biggest teams has confirmed they will be taking on South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns as they prepare for the upcoming season.
On Tuesday night, Al Hilal announced that they will be playing five friendly matches as part of their preparations for the 2024/25 campaign, with the encounter against the Brazilians scheduled for Friday, 26 July.
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???Five Friendlies Prepares #AlHilal for the New Season ?? pic.twitter.com/A4gNzVIV81
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) July 2, 2024
Both teams will be travelling to Austria, where the clash will take pace, and Masandawana will look to prove to be a challenge for the Saudi Pro League side that secured a domestic treble last season.
Hilal, who boast the likes of Neymar – currently sidelined with an ACL injury – Aleksandar Mitrovic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ruben Neves, among others, put their players who are not competing in major tournaments or injured under medical examination on Tuesday, according to Kooora.
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It is believed the Blue Wave will begin their training camp in Austria on 15 July.
They will be led by Portuguese tactician Jorge Jesus, who recently guided them to a season in which they lost just one of the 53 games they played across all competitions.
Downs, meanwhile, have been rocked by speculation surrounding the future of manager Rulani Mokwena, who led his side to the DStv Premiership title as well as silverware in the inaugural African Football League tournament.
The South African coach is claimed to have already exited the club following what is believed to have been a fallout with sporting director Flemming Berg.
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Based on reports, the Brazilians may just head to Austria to face the Saudi champions with a different manager at the helm.