JEDDAH: For at least 90 minutes starting at 9 a.m. today the streets of football-batty Saudi Arabia will have little or no traffic as the nation stays glued to television sets for an important World Cup qualifying match.
The Saudi national team faces North Korea in a crucial away game in Group B Asia World Cup 2010 qualifying.
With only the group winners to advance outright to the World Cup finals in South Africa the Saudis are under heavy pressure to win the match to boost their chances of qualifying. Saudi Arabia is fourth in the team standings with four points from one win, one draw and one loss against South Korea in Riyadh. North Korea also has four points from one win, one draw and one loss but in third place on goal difference.
South Korea leads the group with seven points, Iran second with five points and UAE last with only one point.
The odds are stacked high against the Saudis in their bid to collect the game’s three points against their hosts. They have been exhausted traveling from Riyadh to Japan then to China and on to North Korea. Another concern for the team is the referee who will work the match because he has a history of dishing bum decisions.
Another thing going against the team is the perceived bias of Asian Football Confederation President Mohammed bin Hammam, a Qatari, against Saudi Arabia. The row between the Saudi Football Federation and the Asian soccer body escalated when the SFF accused AFC of deliberately assigning incompetent referee that led to a 2-0 Saudi defeat by South Korea. Also, star striker Malek Muaz is staying home because of his brother’s death leaving Al-Ahli club teammate Hasan Al-Raheb to fill the void.
Veteran Muhammad Nur at midfield is being touted as the trump card to support the striking line of Yaser Al-Qahtani, Rayyan Belal and Al-Raheb.
Iran hosts South Korea in another very important match in Group B that could go either way. If both teams draw their match and the Saudis win against North Korea Saudi Arabia will jump to second place with seven points.
In Group A matches today, Japan hosts Australia and Uzbekistan entertains Bahrain. Australia leads the group with nine points from three wins and no losses. The Japanese team is second with seven points from two wins and one draw. Bahrain and Uzbekistan are fourth and fifth in the standings with one point each and facing early elimination from the qualifying race. Saudi Arabia’s big match coincides with the midterm examinations and after they’re done students are expected to rush to the nearest coffee shops and watch the action on TV.
