JEDDAH, 2 September 2006 — The first round in the Prince Faisal Cup football tournament ended yesterday with three draws and two big wins in matches across the country.
In Jeddah, hosts Al-Ittihad and Al-Nasr battled to a 2-2 standoff. Ittihad played all of the second half with 10 players after a defender was sent off just before the break. The result leaves Ittihad in second place in Group A as Al-Faisali also drew their game 2-2 in Makkah against home team Al-Wehda.
Al-Faisali have emerged the dark horse of the tournament. Last week, they dealt Nasr an embarrassing 4-0 defeat.
In Riyadh Al-Ahli remained on top of Group C on goal difference as they managed to snatch a point from second place 10-man Al-Shabab in a 1-1 draw.
In a high-scoring match Al-Hazam slammed six goals past Taie in Hail.
Al-Qadisiya also won big against Al-Khaleej 4-1.
The tournament takes a long break before it resumes for the second round in January.
Meantime, the Japan national football arrived in the Kingdom Thursday night for the away match against Saudi Arabia in the Asian Cup qualifiers tomorrow.
Japan, level on 6 points with the Kingdom in Group A, then play Yemen on Sept. 6.
In Bangkok, Reuters adds: Asian soccer chiefs have suspended communist Laos from all youth competitions after they fielded a 15-year-old in an under-13s tournament.
Suspicions were raised when Laos named the same player in their squad for the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) U-17 Championship starting in Singapore tomorrow.
The AFC said in a statement on its website that the Southeast Asian country had been “provisionally suspended” with immediate effect after trying to pass the 15-year-old off as a 12-year-old in a tournament they hosted in April. The ban is a blow for impoverished Laos, who have experienced most of their limited success in world soccer at youth level having failed to qualify for the World Cup, Asian Games, Asian Cup or Olympics.
