JAKARTA, 20 July 2007 — Saudi Arabia have been one of the form teams of the Asian Cup and get their chance here Sunday to put behind the miseries of their woeful tournament three years ago in China.
The ‘Sons of the Desert’ dispatched Gulf rivals Bahrain 4-0 on Wednesday to finish top of Group D and stay in Jakarta for a quarterfinal with Uzbekistan.
The Saudis are determined to atone for their disappointment in 2004 when they failed to make it through the group stages, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to the Uzbeks along the way.
But with captain Yasser Al-Qahtani orchestrating the attacks the Saudis have looked impressive under their Brazilian coach Helio Dos Anjos and will be favorites to get one back on Uzbekistan, who dumped China out of the tournament on Wednesday.
“I’m pleased with the strong display and the group effort that we had against Bahrain,” Anjos said.
“The whole group of players had a good game including Taisir Al-Jassim and Saud Khariri, who were instrumental in midfield.
“Our central defenders (Osama Hawsawi and Waleed Abedrabuh) had a great performance also and they are getting better in each match.
“I have to thank them for their efforts as they didn’t receive any yellow cards so far and they had to face three different tactics in three matches.” Anjos said midfielder Khalid Aziz will be back to face Uzbekistan.
“For our next game, Khalid Aziz, who we missed against Bahrain due to suspension, will return,” he said.
“It was very important for us to finish at the top of the group because psychologically it is good for the players and we will be also staying in Indonesia which is also an advantage for us.” Anjos, who has only been in the Saudi job for a month and is the 16th coach in the last 13 years in the Kingdom’s notoriously trigger-happy football hire and fire regime, said he was surprised by Bahrain’s tactics.
“We were surprised by the several tactical changes by Bahrain. We studied Bahrain very well and the fact that they changed a lot of positions surprised us,” he said.
“But the result reflects the power of our players rather than the Bahrain weaknesses.” Al-Qahtani, nicknamed the ‘Sniper’ by Saudi fans, has been one of the form players of the tournament and is looking for Saudi Arabia’s fourth Asian Cup after victories in 1984, 1988 and 1996. “Our main goal in the competition is to win the title and re-assert the superiority of Saudi football in this big Asian event,’ said the Saudi skipper.
Uzbeks Have Saudis Taped
In Kuala Lumpur, Uzbekistan scrambled for videotapes of Asian Cup quarterfinal opponents Saudi Arabia yesterday after their dramatic qualification at the expense of China. Rauf Inileyev, coach of the unglamorous Central Asian side, said he asked for footage of the Saudis immediately after his team’s surprise 3-0 win.
“The first thing I asked from the administration was tapes of our next opponents. I asked who we will play in the next round,” said Inileyev.
“If our next opponent won the game 4-0 that means they’re also very strong. We’ll study them and work out a strategy for playing them.” Inileyev out-thought Chinese opposite number Zhu Guanghu in a resounding victory for Uzbekistan that saw them through to the Asian Cup knockout phase for the second time in a row.
Bahrain Captain Calls It Quits
In Jakarta, Bahrain captain Talal Yusuf has announced his retirement from international football following his side’s exit from the Asian Cup. The 32-year-old midfielder saw his team miss out on a chance to qualify for the knockout stage by losing 4-0 to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, and decided the time had come to call it quits. “It is a final decision,” said Yusuf. “It will be disappointing to leave the team but I have taken my decision.
“We missed several chances during the game and that was the turning point which has cost us the match. Our morale went down after each goal of the Saudi four goals and we couldn’t get back.” Yusuf, who recently moved to Al-Qadisiya from Kuwait League champions Al-Kuwait, will continue playing club football.
Australia Cautious About Japan’s Thirst for Revenge
In Hanoi, Vietnam, Australia is aware of Japan’s desire for vengeance in tomorrow’s quarterfinal in Hanoi, and also knows it must lift its game in order to compete with the defending champions.
Australia rallied late to beat Japan 3-1 in the group stage of last year’s World Cup, and Japanese players spoke before this Asian Cup began of their desire to beat the Socceroos should the opportunity arise.
The clash of the pre-tournament favorite Australia and current favorite and two-time defending champion Japan had come earlier than many anticipated in the quarterfinals.
“We know that it is going to be a difficult game.... We know that it is do or die. You progress or you go home,” Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer said yesterday in Hanoi. “It is going to be a difficult game. We know that we have to lift our standards from the way we played previously,” said Schwarzer. Australia only sneaked into the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win over hosts Thailand in its last group game after being held to a draw by Oman and losing to Iraq in performances that were well below the standards Australia had set at the World Cup.
Japan, by contrast, joined fellow three-time winners Iran and Saudi Arabia as the best-performed teams of the group stage, with seven points.
