JEDDAH, 27 December 2002 — Saudi Arabia, which had already qualified for the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup for the Arab Cup semifinals, played out a 2-2 draw with Yemen in Kuwait yesterday.
The Saudi team’s Dutch coach Van der Liem rested his stars while giving the reserves a chance in a match which had no bearing on the outcome of the semifinal qualifiers. Yasser Al-Qahtani scored both the Saudi goals in the 36th and 81st minutes, while for Yemen, Adil Al-Salemi in the 13th minute and Salem Saeed in the 71st minute scored.
The Saudi coach believes that the semifinal match against Morocco will be tough, but is confident that his team has the talent to advance to the final.
Yemeni coach Said Abdullah Ahmad said his boys played very well despite injuries to some.
In the second match, Bahrain, held to a goalless draw by Lebanon, finished second in the group behind Saudi Arabia with seven points.
Meanwhile, Al-Nasr routed Al-Riyadh 3-0 in the King Fahd Cup soccer tournament match played at the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium in Riyadh yesterday. The victory put Nasr in the seventh position with 12 points.
After Ibrahim Matir had opened the scoring, Bolivian Julio Cesar scored in the 41st and 84th minutes to complete Nasr’s tally. Riyadh defender Ibrahim Al-Mofrej was shown the red card during the match.
In the second match yesterday, Al-Qadisiya climbed to the second position with a 1-0 victory over Al-Najma at the Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd Stadium in Dammam. The lone goal, in the match restricted to protracted midfield play, was scored by Abdu Hakamia in the 31st minute. Qadisiya then held on grimly to the lead against a late Najma rally.
Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli will play at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here today.
