The Portuguese Sergio Conceição, the head coach of the Saudi Union Club, has made a decisive technical decision to exclude Malian player Mohamed Doumbia from the team list that will face Al-Nassr tomorrow in the Round of 16 of the King Abdulaziz Cup.

The Saudi newspaper Al-Yawm revealed that Conceição preferred to exclude Doumbia from the anticipated match after his performance declined in the last game against Al-Hilal, which ended in a 2-0 defeat for the Union in the Saudi league.

The Portuguese coach's decision came as a way to restore balance to the team, especially after the mistake made by Doumbia when he scored an own goal during the Al-Hilal match, which negatively affected the final result.

It is noteworthy that the Union Club had signed Mohamed Doumbia during the last summer transfer window from Royal Antwerp in Belgium, with a contract extending until 2030 for about 25 million euros, including incentives.

At the same time, the newspaper clarified that the Union's list against Al-Nassr saw the return of Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajković after fully recovering from the injury that sidelined him from recent matches.

Conceição hopes that his team will perform excellently against Al-Nassr to compensate for the recent failure in the league and continue their journey in the King Abdulaziz Cup with the ambition of reaching the final stages.