JEDDAH, 23 May 2005 — Saudi Arabia beat Morocco 1-0 in an international soccer friendly last night at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
It was the third win by the Kingdom in as many head-to-head matches between the two teams. The Kingdom national team also beat Morocco 2-1 during the 1994 World Cup in the US and in the first Islamic Solidarity Games last month by 1-0.
An injury time goal by Hassan Moad lifted the hosts to victory in the match that was played as tuneup for the Kingdom’s crucial World Cup final qualifying games.
The Saudis play at home against Kuwait in two weeks’ time before taking on Uzbekistan also at home and South Korea in Seoul.
After the Group A games played two months back, South Korea led the group with 6 points from three matches, Saudi Arabia stayed second with 5, one ahead of Kuwait.
Saudi Arabia are bidding to make their fourth successive appearance in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.The Saudis picked up pace after a lethargic first half creating a number of chances although these looked harmless ones. Moad’s shot the lone goal of the match in the 92nd minute picking up a loose ball inside the box after a cross by Mohammad Shalhoub. The Moroccans played a lackluster game for the most part although they did have very good chances.
