JEDDAH, 7 November 2006 — Looking to swing an invite to the FIFA Under-19 World Cup next year in Canada Saudi Arabia instead was shown the exit door, done in by a last-gasp goal by Japan 2-1 in a thrilling quarterfinal match yesterday in the AFC Youth Championship at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore, India.
After a penalty goal from Jufain Al-Bishi in minutes 81 allowed the Kingdom to pull even at 1-1 the game hung in the balance, as the Saudis tightened their game and matched up pretty well against the game Japanese.But super-sub Kota Aoki thwarted a potential Saudi comeback when he fired the match-winner in minutes 90.
Early on, Kazuhisa Kawahara rocketed Japan into the lead with a well executed header in minutes 7.
The defeat ended what started as a promising campaign for the Saudis and it also denied them the chance to take part in the U-19 World Cup where the four semifinalists in this tournament had been guaranteed automatic berths.
The Saud youth team have been playing well since the beginning of this championship. They drew their first match in the group stage against Iraq 2-2, won 2-0 against Malaysia and beat Vietnam by the same scoreline.
Saudi striker Mohammed Al-Sahlawi tried but failed to convert scoring attempts from minutes 9 of the first half.
And the pouring rain at the start of the match apparently slowed the Saudis who had been handicapped as well by the absence of their three main players namely Ahmed Al-Kaabi, Motazz Moussa and Ahmed Al-Khuwaifi.
In another quarterfinal match in Bangalore, South Korea beat Australia 2-1 to qualify for the semifinal to be played on Nov. 9. The final is set for Nov. 12.
