For the second consecutive year, Al Ahli Saudi failed to overcome the African champion in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, suffering a 2–1 defeat against Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa.
The Asian champion entered the match aiming to erase the memory of their painful exit in the previous edition, but found themselves trailing as early as the 17th minute when Nuno Santos met Teboho Mokoena’s cross with a powerful header past Édouard Mendy.
Al Ahli responded just two minutes later, restoring parity when Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams scored an own goal to send the teams into halftime tied at 1–1.
Al Ahli failed to capitalize on their momentum in the second half, while Sundowns remained patient and struck in the 81st minute: Nuno Santos netted his second header of the match, converting a delivery from Thapang Matuludi.
Despite late pressure, Al Ahli lacked clinical edge and attacking solutions, failing to uphold Asia’s title on the global stage as Sundowns celebrated winning the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup and advancing to the next round.
The defeat closely mirrored the previous season’s narrative, where Al Ahli lost 3–1 on home turf in Jeddah against Egypt’s Pyramids FC, following a hat-trick by Congolese striker Fiston Mayele that eliminated the Asian champions.
Sundowns now advance to the FIFA Challenger Cup to face the winner between the Copa Libertadores champion and Mexico’s Toluca, the CONCACAF champion. The winner of the Challenger Cup will progress to the final to take on European champion Paris Saint-Germain.
This latest setback aligns with Al Ahli’s sluggish start to the current campaign. The team has gathered just nine points from their opening six Saudi Pro League matches (three wins and three defeats) to sit seventh in the table, alongside a 1–1 home draw against Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor in their AFC Champions League Elite opener.
These results place manager Marino Pušić under early pressure, despite taking charge prior to the season on a contract running through 2028. While the coach appealed for patience to implement his tactical ideas following a recent defeat to Al Qadsiah, exiting a global tournament at the hands of the African champion for the second straight year narrows his margin for error ahead of upcoming fixtures.
