Match Report
Before the match
seven goals for and five against accompanied NEOM's two wins, one draw and two defeats across five outings. On 20 October, NEOM recorded a 1-0 defeat visiting Al-Nassr.
Al-Nassr hosted NEOM (Saudi Pro League) on 20 October. For NEOM, the score was 0-1: zero goals scored, one allowed. 0-1 was NEOM's result against Al-Ettifaq on 17 October (Saudi Pro League), playing at home; NEOM lost, with zero scored to one conceded. The 10 October fixture (Saudi Pro League) paired NEOM with Al-Hazm. NEOM drew 1-1 away from home, netting one goal while conceding one. Playing at home against Al-Fateh (Saudi Pro League), NEOM finished 4-2 on 13 September. Their score comprised four goals, against two from the opposition. 7 September: NEOM won 2-0 against Al-Hilal Saudi FC away from home in Saudi Pro League, scoring two goals and allowing zero.
Abha: one draw and four defeats over five games; four goals scored, eight conceded, without a win. Latest: a 2-1 defeat away to Al-Qadisiyah FC on 16 October.
On 16 October, Al-Qadisiyah FC faced Abha in Saudi Pro League: Abha lost 1-2 away from home, having scored one and conceded two. Saudi Pro League, 13 September brought an away meeting with Al Diriyah; Abha drew 0-0, a return of zero goals scored and zero conceded. Abha visited Al-Nassr on 9 September (Saudi Pro League) and lost 1-2; their goals totalled one, compared with two conceded. Al-Ettifaq travelled to face Abha (Saudi Pro League) on 4 September. For Abha, the score was 0-1: zero goals scored, one allowed. 2-3 was Abha's result against Al-Fayha on 28 August (Saudi Pro League), playing away from home; Abha lost, with two scored to three conceded.
After the match
NEOM beat Abha 2-0 at King Khalid Sports City, Tabuk on 24 October 2026. Saïd Benrahma opened the scoring inside the first 15 minutes for NEOM, set up by Alexandre Lacazette, to make it 1-0. Alexandre Lacazette added to the tally 50 minutes into the game for NEOM, set up by Saïd Benrahma, to make it 2-0. Khaled Al Shamrani (49') and Safwan Al Johani (79') were booked. The rating gap is a clear one: our current Elo ratings have NEOM 243 points stronger than Abha. NEOM's victory matches the model's current-rating preference: 76.9% for a win in this pairing. NEOM: four substitutions. The card tally for Abha was two yellow cards. Abha made five changes. NEOM conceded no goals.