With a curt reply... Yassir dodges questions from the Saudi national team

Yasle held a press conference on Thursday to discuss the match, but one journalist asked him about the issues facing the Saudi national team, whether they were related to the amount of playing time the players were getting, and his expectations for them at the 2026 World Cup.

The German coach responded briefly to this question, saying: “I am the coach of Al-Ahli, and I wish the Saudi national team every success at the World Cup.”

Some have tipped Yassine to take charge of the Saudi national team at the 2026 World Cup, succeeding French coach Hervé Renard, who has come under widespread criticism recently due to a decline in results and performance.

On the other hand, Yaisle felt that the international break had been detrimental to the team, given that most of the players had been called up to their national teams.

He explained: “The break has certainly been detrimental to the players; I had hoped there would be a match just three days after the defeat to Al-Hilal (in the King’s Cup).”

He added: “The match against Damac is a difficult one given the current circumstances. During the break, we didn’t train with the full squad; there were only about seven players from the team, and that makes me proud that they are international players.”

The German coach also touched upon the injuries currently affecting Al Ahly, namely those to Turkish defender Merih Demiral, French midfielder Valentin Atangana, and full-backs Ali Majrashi and Zakaria Hawsawi.

Yasle said: “We’re keen to play after the FIFA international break to test the players’ quality, especially following the injuries they’ve sustained.”

He added: “It’s unlikely that the injured trio – Atangana, Demiral and Majrashi – will feature in the next match, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

He concluded: “I hope to get a specific date for their return from the medical staff, and that their recovery progresses as quickly as possible.”