TOKYO, 5 June — Saudi coach Nasir Al-Jowhar stated yesterday that he and his side still believed they could make it to the second round of World Cup finals, despite the 8-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of Germans.
"It’s not true at all that we went into the match without any strategy, the players trained hard to apply it — which was demonstrated prior to the finals in the good results from the warm-up matches. What happened against Germany was abnormal and unbelievable," he said.
The 56-year-old, known as "Mr. Fixit" for his ability to come in and turn the side’s fortunes, issued a defiant note against his critics.
"All those people who are criticizing me now are the same ones who wrote or said I was a hero after the Asian Cup in Lebanon and after the final stage of qualifying for this World Cup," he said.
Prince Nawaf ibn Faisal, head of the Kingdom’s delegation to the World Cup finals, yesterday met with Al-Jowhar and discussed the team’s preparations for the next two matches.
Al-Jowhar said he would make some changes to the side for Thursday’s match with African champions Cameroon, one of which will see Fauzi Al-Shehri replace Abdullah Al-Shahrani as a link between the defense and midfield because of the latter’s lack of pace.
One player who will not be dropped is veteran goalkeeper Muhammed Al-Deayea according to team manager Faisal Abdul Hadi. "I expect one or two players would be replaced for the game with Cameroon but I insist that the goalkeeper should play because he remains one of the most talented guardians in Asia," he said.
"If any player makes mistakes it doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to play for his national team."
Abdul Hadi said all they were demanding of the players was that they played to their real level and not the dreadful one they had produced against the Germans.
"We are not asking our players to do something extraordinary. What we need from them is to play at their normal level and I am sure they will do it and we will get good results in the final two matches because we have faith in their ability," he added.
He said that it was pointless to change coaches at this stage, although he made little secret that if the thrashing had come under the auspices of a foreign coach then he would have been fired immediately.
"We need Al-Jowhar a lot in this situation because he is Saudi and he can understand the players," he said.
Abdul Hadi said skipper and veteran striker Sami Al-Jaber would be able to attend training sessions after missing the last two days because of a right ankle problem. The medical staff was hopeful the 29-year-old would be able to play against Cameroon.
The influential forward, who has won the Asian player of the month award several times, will do some light training before the match, the team spokesman said. After playing Cameroon, Saudi Arabia will finish their Group E games against the Republic of Ireland in Yokohama on June 11.
