JEDDAH, 11 December 2005 — Nearly all the Asian teams that had qualified for the World Cup finals heaved a sigh of relief after being placed in relatively easy groups, with the Saudis being the most optimistic of their chances.
At the World Cup draw in Leipzig, Germany, on Friday, Saudi Arabia were picked last in the 32-team draw and they landed in Group H along with Spain, Ukraine and Tunisia.
Prince Nawaf ibn Faisal, deputy president of the Saudi Youth Welfare Presidency, expressed his happiness at the draw. He said, “We, in the Kingdom, had thought of all the possibilities and were ready to face any team in the World Cup. I think all groups are strong and have strong teams, including the teams in our group. But comparatively we are in a easy but competitive group.”
“A committee has worked out plans to prepare the Saudi team for international participation. And the committee will again meet this Wednesday to chart out the course in the World Cup, now that we know that we are facing Spain, Ukraine and Tunisia,” Prince Nawaf said, while adding that the Saudi team would play some friendlies in preparation for the World Cup.
He said: “It’s good that we have Tunisia, another Arab team, in our group because that will increase the possibility of one Arab team advancing to the next round from this group.”
Reaction varied among the Saudi fans interviewed by Arab News. Tariq Ali said: “The most important thing is that the opening match is against a team that is equal to us in strength unlike the opening match in the last World Cup, which was against a world champion. After the 8-0 loss against Germany in the last World Cup, the whole team lost respect in front of others in the event and we suffered negatively. But this time round, I think, we stand a chance against Tunisia and Spain because Spain is not as strong as they were before. But we have to be careful against Ukraine.”
Another Saudi fan Mazin Al-Homoud said: “I don’t think either the Saudi or the Tunisian team have any chance against Spain and Ukraine. If we hope to qualify to the second round at least then, I think, we should prepare properly. We should play strong friendly matches against big teams and also learn the style and weaknesses of the three teams in our group in order to exploit them.”
Ahmad Al-Hadrami said that there is no such thing as an easy group. “Whoever says we landed in an easy group knows nothing of football. Who says Spain is easy, when most if their players are professionals? Who says Tunisia, the Africa champions, are a pushover? Who says Ukraine, who qualified first in the European qualifiers, can be easily overcome?
Looking at all this and seeing our team, with no professional players, I think it will be fair to say that the chances of us advancing to the next round of the World Cup are slim. I will not waste my breath, because I’m supporting the German team.”
