JEDDAH, 7 June — Soccer fans across the Kingdom were further disappointed yesterday after their team became the first to be eliminated from the 2002 FIFA World Cup when they lost 1-0 to Cameroon.
However, the saving grace was that the Saudis, humiliated 8-0 by Germany in their opening group E clash, put up a stiff resistance in yesterday’s encounter against the African champions.
Lack of a killer instinct and bad luck caused the Kingdom’s early exit. This was the view of soccer fans in the Eastern Province who took the defeat lightly saying a tough fight had been given to the "Indomitable Lions."
In fact, the humiliating defeat by Germany in the opening match kept many Saudi fans indoors. A handful of youths, however, did gather at Alkhobar Corniche to watch the match.
Hasan A. Obeid, a student of King Faisal University, said: "We dominated the first half and yet lost because we failed to convert some excellent moves and passes."
Some fans were upset over the ruling of the referee in the second half against Hassan Al-Yami who was shown a yellow card.
Yahya Al-Suwaid, another KFUPM student said: "The ruling should have been the other way round. The referee should have awarded a penalty against Cameroon as Al-Yami was clearly pushed inside the Cameroon D."
Nawaf Al-Temyat, who attempted eight shots, was singled out for praise. But all agreed that the absence of Sami Al-Jaber, who was downed by a knee injury, had made all the difference.
"In the first half, the Saudi team missed several chances. If Sami had been there he would have converted those chances to our advantage," Abdullah Al-Khamis, a young player of a Eastern Province club said.
Moqbil Al-Sayyari, Gulf editor of Arriyadiah, agreed that the Saudi team put up a brave fight and played with a game plan. "It was unfortunate that they couldn’t utilize so many chances to score in the first half," Al-Sayyari said.
Hussam Al-Jughiman, sports editor of Asharq Al-Awsat, said the Saudi team’s performance was satisfactory, but he felt the strategy adopted by coach Nasir Al-Jowhar had flaws. "He put five players in defense, four in the midfield and only one in in the front line. This weakened the attack."
Al-Jughiman felt that the national side lacked accuracy and the killer instinct.
Miteb Al-Badeen of an Arabic daily was philosophical in his comment. "The defeat by a solitary goal was as bad as 8-0 defeat against Germany. Cameroon is an African team and their game is similar to that of Asians and Arabs."
Wael Al-Osta of the Jeddah-based Abdullah Bakhashab Establishment, said. "If they had played the way they did now, the margin of defeat in their opening match would have been narrow."
Saudis now need to learn from their mistakes and rebuild their team with confidence and determination for the next World Cup, Allen Johnson, an American executive with a food importing company, said.
"The match, however, turned out to be a fascinating clash of styles between the Cameroonians who all play in overseas leagues and the Saudis who play in their domestic tournaments," said Abdul H. Zakeer, a shipping company executive in Jeddah.
In Riyadh, the general feeling was that the Saudi team should learn to be more down to earth in their approach rather than bask in the sunshine of self-confidence.
"It was this attitude that cost them the first match against Germany and had a demoralizing impact on the team," said Mosaad Alosaimy, sports editor of Asharq Al-Awsat.
Mosaad said the Saudi coach reshuffled the team by bringing in six new players. Yet, despite their good performance, they were not equal to the superior Cameroon squad. He also made a pointed reference to the chances that the Saudis squandered by shooting the ball either over the net or across it.
Nawaf Al-Temyat and Hassan Al-Yami had developed good rapport on the ground in terms of the passes and forward movement. But their advance was stymied by inadequate support from players in the forward position.
"From what I saw of the games, one gets the impression that the Saudi players take their win for granted and think of the next match in which they have been lined up. They should give up this attitude and try to be practical in their approach," he said.
Mehmood Laota of Eqtisadiah said: "Our team did better against Cameroon than against the Germans. They had learned from past mistakes. Even so, they squandered many chances."
The Kingdom now looks forward to a consolation win against Ireland on Tuesday. Many Saudis said they have no more interest in the upcoming match. "Even if they win, it will not change anything for us except spoiling the chances of Cameroon," said Al-Badeen echoing the general sentiment.
