JEDDAH, 9 June 2006 — With their ever loyal supporters expected to descend in droves in Germany and thousands more to follow their campaign on their television sets back home, Saudi Arabia play their opening World Cup match against Tunisia on June 14 in Munich.
For a nation of 27 million that regards soccer as national passion, nothing less than a hurdle of the group matches is expected of the Green Hawks who will be making their fourth straight World Cup finals appearance.
The pressure to erase the stigma of the disastrous 2002 campaign builds up on the team and Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta as the footballing showcase nears.
Paqueta, however, remains confident pointing out that he was satisfied with the team’s preparations and that the several warmup matches and training camps were beneficial.
Reams of copy have been written about the Saudi team’s preparations for the World Cup including the SR45 million plunked down by King Abdullah to ensure a successful campaign.
But ultimately their performance on D-day, after the last warmup match today, will be the one that matters.
The game against fellow Arab team Tunisia is crucial if the Saudis are to advance past the group stage for the first time since 1994, when they defeated Belgium and Morocco to reach the second round in the United States.
During interviews at their training base in Bad Nauheim, two of the most most senior players, Mohammad Al-Deayea and Sami Al- Jaber are keeping their fingers crossed about their team’s chances.
“ All we want now is to help the team in the best way possible. Taking part in the World Cup is any player’s dream,” al-Deayea said.
Team captain Al-Jaber, said they were aware of their responsibility.
“We know that the Saudi fans are still angry at the failure in 2002, but we promise them that we will spare no effort to display Saudi Arabia’s true colors this year,” he said.
In addition to these two elder statesmen of Saudi football, two promising young players namely Yassir Al-Qahtani and Hamad Al- Muntashari are expected to make an impact for the team.
Al-Qahtani has been brought in by Paqueta at Al-Hilal from Al-Qadisiya at a record fee of $10 million. Nicknamed Al-Gannas or “The Sniper,” Al-Qahtani is expected to be the lone striker under the 5-4-1 formation that puts premium on defense.
Asia’s best player, Al-Muntashari, with his boundless energy, will be a tough weapon for coach Paqueta who never hides his admiration of the player he says will have “a bright future ahead of him.”
