ABHA, 19 August 2004 — Jomo Cosmos of South Africa defeated Japan’s United Club 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the International Friendship Soccer Tournament at Prince Sultan Sport City here yesterday. Cosmos, which now heads Group Two with 10 points, qualified for the semifinals.
The South Africans dominated from the kick-off and locked up the match early in the game with the winner coming in the 9th minute of the game. Cosmos’ strikers, however, wasted at least three potential goals as their shots either hit the bar or was stopped by the Japanese keeper.
In the 40th minute, Saudi referee Khaled Al-Zahrani gave a penalty kick for Cosmos but Safari Clant sent the ball outside.
In the second match of the day, Al-Ittihad of Jeddah put it past Al-Hilal 3-2 for their first victory of the tournament. A large crowd of soccer fans was present at the stadium to watch the thrilling encounter.
Khaled Al-Shamrani scored two goals for Ittihad while Hamad Al-Eisa completed the tally for the team. Hilal’s goals came from Abdullah Al-Mutrif and Abdullah Al-Anazi.
Figo Takes Break From
International Game
In Madrid, Portugal captain Luis Figo said yesterday he was taking an indefinite break from international football, but would not confirm whether his decision was final.
“The time has come to take a break. I still can’t say if this is for ever ... but at the moment I feel the need to stop,” the Real Madrid winger said in a statement.
The decision by the 31-year-old former World Player of the Year, who has made a record-breaking 110 appearances for his country and scored 31 international goals, comes little more than a month after he led hosts Portugal to the final of Euro 2004, where they lost 1-0 to Greece.
“In the recent Euro 2004, which filled us all with pride, we saw a new group of footballers emerge, who are capable of guaranteeing the continuity of the level Portuguese football has achieved in the last decade,” he said.
