Al-Owais drops a bombshell: our goal at Al-Hilal is to win the Club World Cup

Mohammed Al-Owais did not hedge. The Al-Hilal and Saudi Arabia goalkeeper has laid out exactly what the club is chasing this season: the Club World Cup. He said it after Monday night’s 2-0 win over Al-Raed in the King’s Cup round of 32, and it landed like a statement of intent rather than a soundbite. This is not an idle boast either. Al-Hilal are the club that knocked Manchester City out of the expanded Club World Cup in the United States in 2025, and their squad is stacked with players who cut their teeth in the Premier League.

What Al-Owais actually said

Al-Owais insisted that Al-Hilal’s target for the current campaign is winning the Club World Cup, and that pulling on the club’s shirt is a dream for any player because of the sheer volume of competitions the squad contests: the Saudi league, the King’s Cup, the Asian stage and the world stage. There is no room in that sentence for simply taking part.

The goalkeeper was speaking after starting against Al-Raed. Every cup night is another chance for him to press his claim in a goalkeeping department where the internal competition is genuinely international.

2-0 against Al-Raed: job done in the King’s Cup

Al-Hilal beat Al-Raed 2-0 on Monday evening in the King’s Cup round of 32 to move another step through the draw. No extra time, no shootout, no goals conceded — precisely the kind of night a squad juggling four competitions needs.

Ties like this also serve a squad-management purpose. Fringe players get minutes, key men get a breather, and the rhythm stays intact heading into the continental fixtures that ultimately define the season.

The Premier League pipeline into Riyadh

English football is woven right through this Al-Hilal side. Rúben Neves arrived from Wolves, Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea and Aleksandar Mitrović from Fulham, giving the squad a spine of players who know exactly what a Premier League season demands. That experience is a big part of why the club’s ambitions have gone global rather than domestic.

It also explains the tone of Al-Owais’s comments. When a dressing room contains that many players who have competed in the Champions League and the Premier League, aiming only for a national title would look like a retreat.

The road to the world stage runs through Asia

Before Al-Hilal can chase a world title, they have to conquer their own continent. The route is the AFC Champions League Elite, Asia’s premier club competition, whose winners earn their place among the international fixtures. Without that trophy, the global ambition stays theoretical.

Al-Hilal have form on both fronts. They are one of the most decorated clubs in the history of Asia’s top club competition, and at the expanded Club World Cup staged in the United States in 2025 they eliminated Manchester City in the knockout rounds before going out in the quarter-finals.

The Saudi market keeps moving: the Kessié situation

Elsewhere in the league, business is still being done. Al-Ittihad are reportedly making a late move to snatch Franck Kessié, according to press reports. Nothing has been officially confirmed by any club, so the story remains at the rumour stage for now.

It is a useful reminder of the context around Al-Owais’s words. Al-Hilal’s domestic rivals are strengthening aggressively, and the Saudi Pro League title is no longer a formality. The path to the Club World Cup starts with surviving one of the most competitive leagues outside Europe.

FAQ