JEDDAH, 20 January 2007 — Favorites Al-Hilal had to sweat it out in their match against Al-Qadisiya in the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd competition when they played out a 1-1 draw before cheering fans in Alkhobar last night.
Forward Al-Shahlawi gave Qadisiya an early lead when he scored in the 29th minute of the first half. He headed the ball into the goal. Qadisiya were leading 1-0 at the end of first half.
Al-Hilal played aggressive and desperate football, looking for an equalizer.
The much-needed equalizer came in the dying minutes of the 2nd half when Badr Kharashi headed the ball into Qadisiya’s net.
Both teams squandered many chances during the game.
Kuwait Face Feisty Challenge Against Oman in Gulf Cup
Today the football teams of Group A in the 18th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Cup tournament, currently hosted by Abu Dhabi, are at it again after the results of first two matches played took fans by surprise.
Oman beat United Arab Emirates by two goals to 1 and Kuwait just managed to equalize through Bader Al-Mutawi’s spot kick ending up with a one-all draw with Yemen.
The host team is under pressure from their home fans to win the cup. The players seemed a little tense in their first match and that resulted in an early sending off giving Oman the advantage.
Trailing at the bottom of Group A the UAE national team is expected to pull a strong come back against weaker side Yemen in their match today that starts at 6 p.m.
On the other hand Yemen proved that it was not going to be easy prey for the teams in the group after nearly snatching their first three points in the history of the tournament from none other then cup dominators Kuwait.
Yemen managed to threaten the Kuwaiti side a number of times and scored what critics called it the best goal of the tournament yet. The Kuwait side will face a feisty challenge when they play against group leaders Oman today at 4 p.m. Oman, playing a better game, showed a performance unmatched by any of the other teams in its group making them the strongest candidate to qualify.
Things are not looking to good for Kuwait a team that once dominated the tournament for years; the team needs a win to get back in the competition — a task which the most optimistic sports fan would call “difficult”.
Brazil’s Wagner to Join Al-Ittihad
Brazilian Wagner will move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad from Brazilian team Cruzeiro. The 21-year-old midfielder was expected to sign a five-year deal with Al Ittihad late last night, reports Associated Press. Official financial details were not disclosed, but Brazilian media said Al-Ittihad will pay nearly $9 million.
Wagner, whose full name is Wagner Ferreira dos Santos, was called up to the Brazil squad last year for the first time after having been a member of the country’s youth squads. He scored 11 goals for Cruzeiro in last year’s Brazilian league.
Cruzeiro, the 2003 national champion, finished 10th in the 20-team Brazilian league in 2006, 25 points behind winner Sao Paulo. Earlier this month, Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo signed a one-year contract with Al-Ittihad.
