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Two strong clashes in the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Under-21 League
The finals of the Elite Aviation Championship (Saudi Arabia Under-21 League) continue after the conclusion of the league, with the play-offs and quarter-finals through semi-final matches.
Four teams have advanced to the semi-finals of the Elite Air League Championship, where they will meet in two high profile matches, home and away, to decide the season finale and either side of the tiebreaker.
Dates of semi-final matches
The first leg of the semi-finals will kick off next Sunday, 10 May 2026, when Al Hilal host Al Hazm at the latter’s Al Rasi Stadium.
The following day, Monday, May 11, Al-Qadisiya will host Al-Fateh at the Tamuel Al-Ula Square Stadium in Al-Ahsa.
Next Sunday, May 17, Al Hilal will host Al Hazm at their stadium in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in the second leg.
The semi-final matches will conclude on Monday, May 18, when Al-Qadisiya host fellow Al-Fateh at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium in Al-Khobar.
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Al-Hilal and the conqueror of the hero
In theory, Al Hilal’s match may seem easy, especially as they face Al-Hazm, who are 9th in the table, and the second leg of the semi-final will be at Al-Zaim Stadium.
But Al-Hazm sprung a huge surprise in the quarter-finals where they eliminated Al-Etifaq, champions in the league stage when they topped the table, and by no means beat them, but rather in a heavy defeat.
Al-Hazm thrashed Al-Etifaq 6-0 at their home ground in Al-Ras, qualifying clinically ahead of the second leg at Dammam’s Ego Stadium, which ended in a 1-3 defeat, but it was unimpressive.
Al-Hilal fear a repeat of this upset, especially as Al-Hazm were one of the teams that managed to upset Al-Zaim in the league stage as their match ended in a goalless draw.
But Al Hilal are also on a positive note after knocking arch-rivals Al-Ittihad out of the quarter-finals with a 3-2 aggregate win over the two legs.
Al Hilal remain the only semi-final team not to have played in the play-offs, having qualified directly for the quarter-finals after finishing second in the league stage, giving them a physical advantage over their opponents.
Al-Qadisiyah and Kahir Al-Nasr
As for the second leg of the semi-final, it will be the strongest and most competitive as it brings together Al-Qadisiya and Al-Fateh, who are ranked 5th and 6th respectively in the league stage.
Al-Qadisiya struggled to reach the semi-finals after a marathon encounter against Al-Taawun, notably a 4-3 penalty shoot-out, after winning the first leg 2-1 and losing the second leg by the same scoreline.
As for Al-Fateh, it was the biggest surprise when they knocked Al-Nasri out of the quarter-finals after winning both games.
Al-Fateh won the first match at home with a score of 4-1, and in the return match they won again at Al-Nasr Stadium with a score of 3-2, which gives them a psychological advantage over their opponents in the upcoming matches.
Al-Fateh also had the second strongest offensive line in the league stage and the second strongest defensive line in the same stage and won 3 of their four matches in the qualifiers, in contrast to Al-Qadisiya who won two, drew one and lost the same.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the current Air Elite League season as they have never met in the league stage.
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Remarkable numbers
Since the launch of the Air Elite League, 256 matches have been played in the league, playoffs and quarter-finals, with 203 wins, while only 53 matches have ended in draws.
So far, 769 goals have been scored in Saudi Arabia Under-21 League matches with more than 3 goals per game, which is a very high rate.
Al-Taawoun striker Bassem Al-Arini is the top scorer in the Elite Aviation League this season with 20 goals, 18 of them in the league stage, in addition to two goals in the quarter-finals.
