The Cosmos have arrived in Riyadh and are ready for an historic international exhibition match against Al-Hilal FC. The current NASL champions will face the current Saudi Pro League champions at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium this Saturday.

Earlier this month, the Royal Club won a record 14th Saudi Pro League title, their first league title since the 2010-11 season, with 21 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses on the campaign, finishing 11 points ahead of their closest rivals, Al-Ahli, whom they defeated this Thursday, 3-2, in the King Cup to earn the club the Saudi double.

The match will mark the 48^th nation visited by the Cosmos, and it will coincide with President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

“What timing, right?,” says Tom Werblin,  the Cosmos’ General Manager for the 1982 and 1983 seasons, and COO in the 1984 season. “You’ve got to think big. The Cosmos have always been international ambassadors for this country; they explore new worlds. Saudi Arabia is part of our world, so why not? We were the first team to China. You’ve got to open doors and sport is the best way to do that. Sport and culture, goodwill. That’s important and that’s what the Cosmos do.”

Founding General Manager, Clive Toye, agrees, saying of the match in Riyadh: “I think that’s absolutely fantastic because it fits in with every trip I thought of for the Cosmos in the old days, where we would get more publicity for being there than all the rest of the bloody clubs in the world. We went to China right after Kissinger sorted out the Chinese peace talks. We went to China and we tried like mad to get the Cosmos to Cuba and got the invitation just after I left the Cosmos. All the time, I was looking to do things that gave the Cosmos the kind of publicity and note that other clubs didn’t have. So therefore, going to Saudi Arabia is ideal, wonderful, well-done. It shows true Cosmos thinking.”

The manager of Al-Hilal, Ramón Díaz of Argentina, featured as a player in one of the 186 international matches the Cosmos have played to date, having visited Giants Stadium when River Plate drew 1-1 against New York on July 30, 2016.

The Saudi champions have ten Saudi Arabian internationals on their roster, including Osama Hawsawi, the legendary center-back with 114 caps. Díaz not only has much of the best Saudi talent on his roster, he also has some stellar foreign players available. Left-wing Omar Kharbin has scored 13 goals in 32 appearances for the Syrian National Team, scoring 14 goals in 18 appearances for Al-Hilal this season.  And a trio of Brazilians give a bit of jogo bonito to the Argentine manager’s side. Striker Bonatini was a splash signing last year that paid immediate dividends, 15 goals in all competitions since signing for a reported club record fee from Estoril of Portugal. Attacking midfielder Carlos Eduardo, who joined two years ago from FC Porto (after a loan spell with Nice), has also scored 15 goals this season. And right-wing Alves has scored twice in 13 appearances.

For the friendly, Díaz welcomes back four former foreign star players to Al-Hilal: Christian Wilhelmsson of Sweden, Mirel Rădoi of Romania, Bashar Abdullah of Kuwait and Tareq Al Taib of Libya. 

After the friendly with the Cosmos, Al-Hilal will travel to Iran to face Esteghlal Khuzestan in the Asian Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday, May 23^rd, with the return leg in Riyadh on Tuesday May 30^th. Finished top of their group in the opening round. Al-Hilal have won the AFC Champions League twice (1991 and 2000), finishing runners-up as recently as 2014.

With such quality opposition, the Cosmos not only add to the club’s reputation as America’s International Team, they also face one of world football’s most successful clubs, an opportunity to test themselves against another championship side before returning home to continue defense of their NASL title. Making history happen in Saudi Arabia continues the club’s mission of representing the world’s most global city at the global game, and a chance to learn from facing another club with a rich sporting legacy.