Hilal will take on Al-Shabab in the Crown Prince Cup final after beating Al-Nasr 1-0 in the semifinal in Riyadh, Monday. Christian Wilhelmsson's first-half goal was enough to help 10-man Al-Hilal secure passage to the final to be played on Friday (Feb. 27). Al-Shabab qualified for the final after beating Al-Hazm 3-1 in Al-Rass on Sunday. Playing in front of a crowd of over 60,000 fans at the King Fahd International Stadium, the two sides packed their lineups with all their key players for the clash, managed by a team of Swiss referees. The match witnessed seven yellow cards, four for Al-Hilal and three for Al-Nasr. Al-Hilal dominated the early minutes of the game and earned a goal in the 7th minute thanks to Wilhelmsson's close-range shot. Yasser Al-Qahtani following one-two passes with Libyan Tariq Al-Taib hit the ball to unmarked Wilhelmsson who drove with the ball from the right edge before sending it to the far right side of Al-Nasr keeper Khaled Radhi. The goal pumped Al-Hilal players up who looked eager to double their lead. Abdullah Al-Zori almost did so three minutes later when his long shot went wide. Omani midfielder Hassan Rabia tried to level the match 15 minutes into the match but Al-Hilal keeper Mohammed Al-Daeyea took the shot. As Al-Hilal tried to secure its one-goal advantage, it was reduced to 10 players after defender Majed Al-Marshadi was booked for the second time five minutes before the break. Al-Nasr coach changed his tactics in the second half aiming to put pressure on Al-Hilal's defense while Cosmin Oulariuo of Al-Hilal worked out to close the gaps. The first real threat from Al-Nasr came 10 minutes from time when Brazilian Elton's 25
