MONTECATINI, Italy, 21 March — Saudi Arabia’s national team yesterday gained victory in their last friendly match held in Italy as they defeated South Africa 1-0 by a goal scored by Nawaf Al-Tamyat in the second half of the game.
In their two previous matches, the Saudi team was defeated by Estonia while they drew with Bulgaria. They won the match with South Africa as a result of tactical changes made by coach Nasir Al-Johar.
Saudi Arabia dominated the field throughout the game as the Saudi players displayed their soccer skills. The South African team focused on tactics.
Saudi strikers performed excellently, keeping pressure on the rivals but they failed to score more than a goal. They missed many golden chances.
In the second half, Al-Tamyat scored a beautiful goal at 17th minute by sending home an excellent pass he received from Muhammad Noor.
Shocked by the goal, South Africans launched a retaliatory campaign but failed to score any goals. The Saudi defense did well in the second half as they stopped dangerous moves by the South Africans.
