JEDDAH, 5 March 2008 — Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal qualified from Group B for the semifinals of the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup football competition after Hilal won against Al-Hazem 1-0 on Monday in Riyadh and Shabab drew with Najran 1-1 in Najran.
Both teams advanced with two rounds left before the start of the semis. In Group A, the competition is still heating up between Al-Nasr, Al-Ahli, Al-Watani and Al-Ittihad. The two rounds remaining are crucial for the four teams battling for the remaining two berths in the semifinals.
Shabab qualified first in Group B with 20 points and Hilal second with 18 points. Nine points adrift in third place in the standings are Al-Hazem.
In Group-A, Ahli took the lead from Nasr with 16 points after defeating Nasr 2-0 in Riyadh on Monday. The win was crucial and a moral-booster for Ahli who sadly exited the Crown Prince Cup against Al-Ittifaq after losing the second leg match 2-1 in Dammam on Sunday. Nasr dropped to second place with 15 points. Al-Watani are chasing Nasr and Ahli for a spot in the semifinal in third place with 13 points after winning against Wehda of Makkah 3-1 in Tabuk. Ittihad are fourth with 10 points.
All four teams are mathematically in contention going into the final two matches in the group. Ahli face a difficult match next Sunday against city rivals Ittihad. Nasr will host Al-Watani of Tabuk in another tough match on the same day.
A close look at Group A standings points to Ittihad as the least likely to qualify. They must win the next two matches and hope that Nasr and Ahli would either draw or lose their matches, which is unlikely to happen.
