JEDDAH, 17 August 2005 — Saudi Arabia and South Korea clash in the final Group A match in the Asian World Cup qualifying today in Seoul.
Only prestige will be on the line in the 1 p.m. (Saudi time) contest as both teams have already qualified for the World Cup finals next summer in Germany.
The Kingdom national team lead the group with 11 points. South Korea are second with 10. On the way to their fourth straight World Cup qualification, Saudi Arabia drew against Uzbekistan 1-1 in Tashkent on Feb. 9. The Green Falcons then secured a huge 2-0 win against South Korea in Dammam. The third game against Kuwait ended 0-0 in Kuwait. Saudi Arabia swept the return matches at home in astonishing fashion against Kuwait 3-0 and Uzbekistan 3-0 to guarantee their spot in the World Cup.
Ahli and Shabab Secure Easy Wins
Meantime, Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab secured their first wins in Group C in the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd competition.
In Hail, Ahli won an easy match against Taie 3-0 after total domination of the game. Ali Dhawi struck for Ahli right in the 6th minute making it the fastest goal so far. Waleed Al-Jizani scored the second goal for Ahli in the 50th minute and the final goal came from Fawzi Al-Shehri in the 73rd minute.
In Riyadh, Shabab strolled to a 2-0 win against Al-Hazm of Al-Rass. Al-Hazm were no match against the experienced Shabab team who controlled the match all the way. Faisal Al-Sultan scored goals in the 25th and 67th minutes.
Four matches are on tap tomorrow. In Group A, Al-Nasr host Al-Ansar of Madinah in Riyadh, Al-Qadisiya face Al- Hilal of Riyadh in Dammam, Abha take on Wehda of Makkah in Abha and Ittihad host Ittifaq at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here. On Friday, Taie will be up against face Shabab in Hail and Ahli against Al-Hazm here.
