Video: After a 4-hour match, Saudi Arabia took the first victory with Donis

The Saudi Arabian national team achieved its first victory with the new Greek coach Giorgos Donis at the expense of the Puerto Rican national team after a 4-hour long match.

In the early hours of today, Saturday, the Greens defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 at the Q2 Stadium in their group game, the second friendly in their camp in the United States of America in preparation for the 2026 World Cup finals.

The meeting started at 2:00 a.m. Makkah time but ended about 4 hours lateraround six in the morning after being stopped for a long time due to thunderstorms near the Q2 Stadium.

The stoppage took place in the 21st minute of the game and lasted about an hour and 40 minutes, in accordance with the protocol for the protection of players and fans in the United States of America, which will be applied at the World Cup.

Back from the break, the Saudi team managed to score the first goal through Sultan Mandesh in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, after he pressured Puerto Rico’s defenders, snatched the ball and put it into the net.

Five minutes into the second half, Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored the second goal in superb fashion, stealing the ball from Puerto Rico’s defenders and firing past the keeper who was in front of his goal.

Two minutes before the end of regular time, Salem Al-Dosari scored the third goal for Al-Akhdar with an individual effort, after breaking into the penalty area from the left front and firing the ball to the left of the goalkeeper.

All in all, Donis was keen to take advantage of all the changes available as he included only one member who had mainly faced Ecuador, Mohamed Kanu, before making 11 changes in the second half.

Saudi Arabia’s win is the first under Denis after losing their first match 1-2 to Ecuador, and they face Senegal in the early hours of next Wednesday in their last friendly before the World Cup.

It is noteworthy that the Saudi Arabian team is in the eighth group of the final stage of the 2026 World Cup, alongside the teams of Spain, Uruguay and Cape Verde, where they will begin their journey against the Latin team at dawn on June 16 this year.