Saudi Arabia’s sports minister rallies behind team player after World Cup miss

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal had some words of encouragement for Saudi national team player Abdulelah al-Malki, who made a defensive mistake during Saturday’s World Cup game against Poland, allowing the opponent team to score a goal.

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In a video circulated on social media, Prince Abdulaziz was seen in the locker room consoling al-Malki and reportedly telling him to hold his head high after he lost possession of the ball in front of the penalty box, allowing Poland’s Robert Lewandowski to score a second goal for the Polish team.

In the video, al-Malki appeared to be emotional as the sports minister was talking to him.

Saudi Arabia was playing against Poland on Saturday, in what was their second game in the World Cup.

Saudi Arabia’s coach, Herve Renard, also supported al-Maliki following the events at the game, saying that mistakes do happen at times during matches.

The Green Falcons’ loss came after a stunning win against Argentina last week. The Saudi national team is expected to face Mexico for its next match on Wednesday.

Read more:

Saudi Arabia versus Poland at the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Here is how it happened

Herve Renard: ‘Proud of players’ as no one imagined Saudi could play at this level

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