This was the consensus of a number of coaches of national clubs in the premier and first divisions. They agreed that the striking line was virtually absent.

They described the Australian team that is to face Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night as an aggressive team. The Saudis need to be fast in order to keep up with the Australians.

Coach Abdul Aziz Al-Ouda said Australia is most likely to qualify as top of the group despite the difficult win against Thailand. He said the Australians are well organized and play with well-honed tactics that pressure opponents into making mistakes. They are also very good in taking advantage of these mistakes.

In addition, they are very strong players and physically fit. In order for the Saudi team to win against Australia, he said, the Saudi coach should not give the Australian team control over the midfield. He added, “One disadvantage of the Australian team is they are not fast enough, especially in defense. They are very slow in retreating.”

Another coach, Sultan Khamis, said there was no edge to the strike force during the Oman contest. He said that the Saudi coach did not choose the perfect formation for the front and midfield.

He said that Al-Fareedi and Shalhoub should play in the midfield against Australia because they have the tendency to attack more and support the strikers. He said that the absence of Abdul Aziz Al-Dossary due to injury would also affect the Saudi team.