Saudi Arabia’s under-21 football team was set to continue training in Japan on Wednesday ahead of its opening Asian Games match against Qatar, with coach Luigi Di Biagio moving the squad into the final phase of work before Friday’s Group D fixture.The team continued training after a Tuesday session that combined fitness work, tactical drills and a practice match played across half the pitch. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation said Di Biagio and his technical staff were using the Japan camp to sharpen preparations for the Qatar match, scheduled for September 18.
Saudi Arabia have been drawn with Qatar and South Korea in Group D of the men’s football competition at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. The official competition schedule lists the Saudi-Qatar match for 7.30 pm local time on Friday at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Stadium.
The Saudis are then scheduled to face South Korea on Tuesday, September 22, at 7 pm at the same venue. With only three teams in the group, the two fixtures will determine Saudi Arabia’s position in the opening phase and their route through the knockout stages.
The top two teams in each men’s group qualify for the quarter-finals. Under the bracket, the Group D winners are due to meet the runners-up from Group C on September 25, while the Group D runners-up face the Group C winners the same day. That structure gives the Saudi side an incentive to secure one of the group’s two qualifying positions during its opening programme.
South Korea enter Group D as three-time defending Asian Games football champions after winning the title at Incheon 2014, Jakarta-Palembang 2018 and Hangzhou 2022. Their presence gives Saudi Arabia a demanding second assignment after Qatar, although the immediate focus remains Friday’s opener and the training work required before it.
The squad arrived in Japan on Sunday after completing a preparatory camp in Doha, where the players trained from September 6 to 13. The federation had planned the Qatar camp as the final overseas preparation block before the team shifted to Japan for the continental tournament.
Di Biagio named a 23-player squad for the Games earlier this month. The group includes Abdulrahman Al-Ghamdi, Yazan Al-Ruwaili, Mahmoud Al-Buraieh, Sultan Al-Essa, Mohammed Barnawi, Meshal Al-Dawood, Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem, Saad Al-Mutairi, Yazan Madani, Bassam Hazazi, Ali Al-Hussain, Farha Al-Shamrani, Rakan Al-Ghamdi and Saad Haqawi, among others.
The Saudi federation said the under-21 side began training in Japan on Monday evening, when players completed fitness and tactical exercises under Di Biagio and his assistants. Tuesday’s programme added a half-pitch practice match, increasing the competitive element as the opening fixture approached.
The football tournament began before the formal opening of the wider Asian Games, a common feature of large multi-sport events where competitions requiring multiple rounds need extra scheduling time. Men’s football is running through October 3, one day before the Games close on October 4.
Aichi-Nagoya 2026 will officially open on September 19 and bring together athletes and officials from 45 national and regional delegations. Organisers have scheduled 469 medal events across 43 sports, with competitions spread across Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and other venues in central Japan.
Saudi Arabia’s use of an under-21 squad reflects the age structure adopted for the men’s football competition, while the federation has treated the tournament as another competitive stage for players moving through the national-team pathway. Di Biagio, the former Italy international and former coach of Italy’s under-21 side, is overseeing the group during the Games campaign.
Qatar provide the first test in a section containing two Gulf teams and South Korea, one of Asia’s most established football nations. The condensed group format leaves little margin for recovery between Saudi Arabia’s two matches, with four days separating the Qatar and South Korea fixtures.
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