Al Hilal loses its star defender in the King’s Cup final
The absence of Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly, Al Hilal's defender, has been confirmed from facing Al-Khuloud in the final of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, scheduled to be held in Jeddah next Friday. Reports indicated that the player will not be present in the final match, despite his recovery from the injury that kept him from participating recently, due to his lack of complete readiness for the match. The city of Jeddah is hosting the upcoming final between Al-Hilal and Al-Khuloud, amid great public anticipation for the decisive match for the King's Cup title this season. Al-Hilal had booked the match. Its place in the final after its victory over Al-Ahly on penalties in the semi-final, after a strong confrontation that ended in a draw in regular and extra time. Italian coach Simone Inzaghi is choosing between several defensive solutions to compensate for the absence, with the preference being to rely on Turkish Yusuf Akçicek in the back line. Al-Hilal hopes to overcome Koulibaly’s absence without a major impact on the defensive system, especially with the importance of the match in deciding the championship title and adding a new achievement.
