Al Ittihad's X Official Account
Apr 11, 2026 04:38+06:00
Translated by Elite League Supplement
A top-of-the-table clash between Al-Ittihad and Neom… while Al-Qadsia aims to reclaim its stolen dream
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Exciting matches await fans in the Saudi Under-21 League play-offs. The Elite League (Saudi Under-21 League) moves into the knockout phase after the group stage, with the play-offs deciding the quarter-finalists. Eight sides—placed fifth to twelfth—now contest four two-legged ties, with the winners advancing to the last eight.
Quarter-final play-off matches
The play-off campaign gets underway on Sunday 12 April. Al-Qadisiyah travel to Al-Majma’ah Sports City Stadium to face Al-Fayha, while Al-Wehda host Al-Fateh at King Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in Makkah.
On Monday 13 April, Al-Ittihad will travel to King Khalid Sports City Stadium in Tabuk to face Neom, while Al-Hazm host Al-Akhdoud at their home ground in Al-Rass.
The return leg begins on Sunday 19 April, with Al-Fateh hosting Al-Wehda at the First Finance Stadium in Al-Ahsa and Al-Ittihad welcoming Neom to their home ground in Jeddah.
The run concludes on Monday 20 April, with Al-Qadisiyah hosting Al-Fayha at Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium in Al-Khobar and Al-Akhdoud welcoming Al-Hazm to Prince Hathloul bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in Najran.
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Al-Qadsia… aiming to reclaim the stolen dream.
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Al-Qadsia head into the fixture against Al-Fayha on a low note, having missed out on a quarter-final berth at the death after a 3-1 loss to Al-Ahli in the last round. The Eastern outfit relinquished its lead against Al-Raqi, ending a five-match winning run in the Elite League. That setback handed fourth place—and the final direct quarter-final berth—to Al-Taawoun.
Although Al-Fayha currently occupy twelfth place—the final play-off berth—the hosts are unlikely to find progress straightforward. Low morale is not their only challenge: Al-Fayha have won four of their last six matches (with one draw and one loss), displaying the kind of form that could extend Al-Qadsia’s slump.
Al-Fayha boast several match-winners, notably striker Moaz Al-Habib, the league’s fifth-leading scorer with 10 goals, and Ammar Al-Khaibari. The sides last met in November at Al-Safa Club, where they played out a 2-2 draw.
Al-Fath… finishing as runner-up simply isn’t enough.
Al-Fateh, second-best in the Joi Elite League on both attack and defence, will meet Al-Wehda in the quarter-final play-off. They finished the campaign with 42 goals scored—level with Al-Nassr and four behind Al-Hilal—and conceded just 21, two more than Al-Alamy. Despite these statistics, the team finished sixth on 35 points—10 wins, 5 draws, 5 defeats—just two points adrift of fourth-placed Al-Taawoun.
Despite a 6–0 thrashing of Al-Riyadh, Al-Fateh missed automatic quarter-final qualification: they managed only draws against Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli, and losses to Al-Adalah and Al-Arabi in the previous four matches.
In contrast, Al-Wehda are enjoying one of their best runs, having gone unbeaten in their last four matches, drawing with Al-Adalah and Al-Riyadh, and beating Al-Ahli and Al-Arabi. Thanks to these results, Al-Wehda claimed the final play-off spot, finishing 11th with 30 points: eight wins, six draws and six defeats. This will be their first meeting of the current Saudi Elite Air League campaign.
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Al-Ittihad and Neom face off in the Play-off Final.
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The quarter-final play-off pits Al-Ittihad against Neom, with the first leg scheduled for Tabuk and the second in Jeddah.
Al-Ittihad head into the tie on the back of two convincing 7–1 and 4–1 victories over Al-Bukairiya and Al-Shabab respectively in their final three league outings, although they did suffer a narrow 3–2 loss to Al-Khaleej. They finished the league phase in seventh place with 34 points, recording 10 wins, four draws and six defeats. The westerners will look to Ammar Al-Ghamdi, who sits third in the Saudi Under-21 scoring charts with 12 goals.
Neom, meanwhile, claimed two victories in their last four Saudi Under-21 League outings—1-0 over Al-Khaleej and 2-0 against Al-Shabab—but also lost 1-2 to Al-Raed and drew 1-1 with Al-Bukairiya in the final round. Neom, meanwhile, ended the stage in tenth place with 32 points, thanks to 10 wins, two draws and eight defeats. This will be their first meeting of the current Joi Elite League season, as the two sides did not face each other in the league phase.
Al-Akhdoud and Al-Huzm… The Final Match
The final play-off clash pits Al-Akhdoud against Al-Hazm, the two sides that finished nearest to each other in the standings. Al-Akhdoud finished eighth in the league phase, collecting 34 points from 10 wins, four draws and six defeats. Al-Hazm, one point adrift in ninth with 33 points, had tallied 10 wins, 3 draws and 7 defeats.
Al-Hazm enter the contest with momentum, having won their final two league matches 3–2 against Damak and Al-Najma respectively, then earning a goalless draw with Al-Hilal. In contrast, Al-Akhdoud limped through the final six rounds without a win or even a goal, losing to Al-Fateh 0–5, Al-Hilal 0–4, Al-Taawoun 0–2 and Dhamk 0–3, and managing only goalless draws against Al-Jabalain and Al-Najma.
This will be their first meeting of the current Elite Air League season, having not faced each other in the group stage.
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League statistics
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During the league phase, 240 matches were played, resulting in 191 wins, whilst only 49 matches ended in a draw. A total of 711 goals were scored, averaging nearly three goals per match—an exceptionally high rate.
Al-Hilal boasted the most potent attack, finding the net 46 times—four clear of both Al-Nassr and Al-Fateh. At the other end of the pitch, Al-Nassr boasted the meanest defence, shipping just 19 goals—an average of fewer than one per match—and finishing two clear of second-best Al-Fateh. Al-Nassr also boasts the best goal difference, +23, one better than second-placed Al-Hilal.
Al-Ittifaq recorded the most victories, winning 13 matches, one more than runners-up Al-Taawoun, and also drew the fewest games, with just one stalemate—a tally matched only by Al-Arabi and Al-Jabalain. Al-Hilal suffered only two defeats, two fewer than Al-Nassr, which lost four.
Al-Taawoun striker Basem Al-Arini leads the Elite Air League scoring charts with 18 goals, three clear of Al-Ittifaq’s Jalal Al-Salem.
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