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Newcastle United Agree To Host Two Saudi Arabia Games At St James' Park

Newcastle United's St James' Park stadium will host two international matches involving the Saudi Arabia men's national team next month.

Robert Summerscales

Newcastle United Agree To Host Two Saudi Arabia Games At St James' Park
Newcastle United Agree To Host Two Saudi Arabia Games At St James' Park /

Newcastle United's St James' Park stadium will host two international matches involving the Saudi Arabia men's national team next month.

Saudi Arabia will face Costa Rica and South Korea at the 52,305-seater arena on September 8 and September 12 respectively.

Tickets for the games are being sold on Newcastle's official club website, costing £5 for adults and £3 for concessions.

The move to host these two matches on Tyneside comes just under two years after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund bought Newcastle United in a £305 million takeover.

The PIF also took over four clubs in the Saudi Pro League earlier this year, buying majority stakes in Al Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli.

Newcastle published a club statement on Wednesday to promote the two upcoming international friendlies.

The statement read: "Newcastle United's St. James' Park stadium will host two international friendly fixtures featuring the Saudi Arabia men's national team in September.

"The Green Falcons will face Costa Rica at 8pm BST on Friday 8th September before taking on South Korea at 5:30pm BST on Tuesday 12th September.

"A football-obsessed nation, Saudi Arabia caught the world's attention at last year's FIFA World Cup by beating eventual winners Argentina 2-1 in an enthralling group stage match at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

"The two friendlies on Tyneside will form part of the team's preparations for the AFC Asian Cup, which takes place in Qatar in January 2024."

Saudi Arabia are currently placed 54th in the FIFA men's world rankings.

Saudi Arabia fans pictured at the 2022 FIFA World Cup during their team's 2-1 win over Argentina
Saudi Arabia fans pictured at the 2022 FIFA World Cup during their team's 2-1 win over Argentina :: IMAGO/ActionPictures
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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.

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