JEDDAH, 9 June 2005 — Saudi Arabia punched a ticket to the World Cup 2006 in Germany with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Uzbekistan yesterday before an overflowing crowd of 75,000 at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
The win gave the Kingdom 11 points from five games in Group A of the Asian qualifying and a fourth trip to the World Cup.
South Korea also qualified after a 4-0 triumph over Kuwait in Kuwait. This left the final match between the Kingdom and Korea, with 10 points from five games, academic and nothing more than a prestige encounter.
The four automatic berths for Asia had been completed when Japan and Iran qualified from Group B.
Saudi fans filled the stadium two hours before kickoff. They went home a happy lot as their national team delivered on their promise to win and get the full three points to qualify for the Cup finals.
The night belonged to inspirational captain Sami Al-Jaber as he delivered an exceptional performance to score two goals against the Uzbeks.
Al-Jaber’s first goal came in the 8th from a beautiful pass that Muhammad Al-Shalhoub lobbed inside the penalty box.
The ball landed in front of Al-Jaber who laid the ball to the left hand side of the goalie. In the 60th minute Jaber also netted from a nice strong shot from outside the edge of the penalty box to the left hand side of the goalie.
Saudi rising star the striker Saad Al-Harithi rounded off the Saudi goals in the 87th minute with a spectacular shot from a nice cross from Al-Bahri. Saudi Arabia controlled the match from the start to end and forced Uzbekistan to play defensively the whole time.
World Cup 2002 co-hosts Japan and South Korea qualified for the 2006 edition in Germany yesterday along with Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Led by Japan, the Asian quartet were the first teams to advance from the worldwide qualifying session for the 32-team finals in Germany prior to the final round of games in August. The host team has direct entry into the June 9-July 9, 2006 event.
Atsushi Yanagisawa in the 73rd minute and substitute Masashi Oguro a minute from the end of regulation time gave Japan a 2-0 victory over hosts North Korea in a match played behind closed doors and in the neutral venue of Bangkok after crowd trouble at a recent game in Pyongyang.
A few hours later, Mohammad Nosrati sent a 70,000-plus Azadi Stadium crowd into a frenzy when he headed Iran’s 1-0 winner against Bahrain in the other Group B game.
In Group A, Lee Dong Gook was a two-goal hero in South Korea’s 4-0 triumph in Kuwait, converting a penalty in the 28th and adding his second in the 55th minute. Park Ju Young opened the scoring in the 16th and Park Ji Sung wrapped up matters in the 58th minute.
Saudi Arabia are ahead of South Korea (10), with Kuwait on four and Uzbekistan on two points. Iran top the group with 13 points, Japan have 12, Bahrain four and North Korea zero. The first two qualify directly for the World Cup, while Bahrain will meet Kuwait or Uzbekistan for a two-legged playoff, with the winner into another playoff with a team from North-, Central America and the Caribbean for a place in Germany. South Korea are Asia’s most successful World Cup team with now seven qualifications for the finals. They were the first Asian finalists in 1954 and have played at every tournament since 1986, with the best performance a run to the semifinals at home in 2002.
— With input from agencies
