JEDDAH, 14 May — The football fans in the Arab world pin great hopes on Saudi Arabia in the month-long World Cup extravaganza scheduled to set off in South Korea and Japan from May 31 as they are the only Arab team to qualify for three World Cup finals in a row.
Saudi Arabia and Tunisia are the only Arab countries taking part in this international soccer event. The Saudi national team open their World Cup 2002 campaign on June 1 against traditional powerhouse Germany in Sapporo, Japan.
The Saudi team are participating in the World Cup finals with high morale thanks to the unanimous support they have received from Arab countries. Moreover, they have made adequate preparations to stage a marvelous performance.
Prince Sultan ibn Fahd, president of the Youth Welfare Presidency, and his deputy, Prince Nawaf ibn Faisal, have been constantly supervising the team during their training programs within the Kingdom and abroad.
The famous German coach, Berti Vogts, has cautioned the coach of his country’s national team about the Saudi players. He commended the Saudi team’s attacking capabilities and their determination to win the game.
"While I was coaching the Kuwaiti team, we had a difficult time with the Saudis in the 15th Gulf Cup tournament," Vogts said and described Saudi goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Daie as one of the best goalkeepers he had ever seen. Al-Daie, he added, is capable of controlling any difficult situation.
"The right side is stronger than the left side and when Sami Al-Jaber plays in the middle, he links between the two sides and keeps the balance.
The national team’s another advantage is their Saudi coach, Nasir Al-Jowhar, who successfully led the Kingdom to the World Cup finals when Serbian coach Slobodan Santrach stumbled in the initial stages.
The Saudi squad comprises well-known figures like Sami Al-Jaber, Nawaf Al-Tamyat, Hussein Abdul Ghani, Obaid Al-Dosari, Hasan Al-Yami, Ibrahim Mater, Saleh Al-Saqri, Ahmad Al-Dokhi and Khamis Al-Owairan.
Saudi Arabia, Senegal play in friendly today
The Saudi national team will meet Senegal, runners-up of the African Cup, in a friendly match at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh today.
Both teams will then leave for Japan the next morning on a special flight ordered by Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
The Saudi team will play their last preparatory match on May 21 with Paraguay before confronting the Germans on June 1 in Group E matches of the World Cup finals. Other teams in the group are Cameroon and Ireland. For Saudis, the friendly with Senegal would be like a preview of their match with Cameroon as both teams follow similar tactics
