Portuguese coach Sérgio Conceição, the head coach of Al-Ittihad Club's first football team, has decided not to play any friendly matches during the current international break, in a move aimed at maintaining the players' readiness and avoiding fatigue.

The team is scheduled to resume its group training tomorrow evening, Friday, at its stadium in Jeddah, after the players had an 8-day break following their loss to Al-Khulood on penalties in the semi-finals of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.

The federation will begin its preparatory program by conducting comprehensive fitness tests for the players, aiming to assess their physical readiness after the break that coincided with Eid al-Fitr and the start of the international break, according to "Al-Riyadiyah" newspaper.

Conceição's decision not to hold friendly matches came due to the absence of 10 players from the team, as they joined their national teams during the current break, which also coincides with the Saudi national team's camp in Jeddah, as part of the preparations for the 2026 World Cup finals.

The technical staff of the club hopes to use this period to physically and technically prepare the players before resuming official competitions in the upcoming phase.