JEDDAH, 3 June 2008 — Despite winning yesterday’s World Cup qualifying game against Lebanon 4-1 at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh the Saudi national team looked shaky.
A Lebanese team grappling with distractions because of the political situation in the country and poor preparations managed to give the Green Eagles a run for their money as they opened their account in the first half through Mahmoud Ali.
The Lebanese forward took advantage of the Saudi goalkeeper’s poor judgment in coming out of his post to clear a high ball that left a gap in defense. The Saudi team scored two minutes later via team captain Yasser Al-Qahtani, who barely punted the ball with the tip of his foot into the net.
The Lebanese’s stamina weakened nearing the end of the first half to expose the sloppy preparations they have had to endure owing to their country’s unstable political situation the past few months.
The Kingdom team, however, were not without problems as their still unimpressive performance has many worrying about their chances of qualifying.
With the Lebanese pace declining in the second half with only a few shy counter attacks, the home team organized various attacks to snatch a winning goal early in the half. In the 62nd minute defender Osama Hawsawi scored the second goal as he calmly placed a corner kick to the right-hand side of the goalie.
Eleven minutes later the team’s other central defender Redha Tukar scored from a corner kick through a powerful header that slammed into the net to pad the Saudi lead to 3-1.
Al-Qahtani had the last say in the match when he scored his second goal in the game and the fourth for the team in the last minute of the Group 4 match of the Asia zone qualifying.
The Saudis are second in Group 4 with three games remaining, three points behind Uzbekistan, who annihilated Singapore 7-3.
Meantime, Bahrain and Uzbekistan maintained their 100 percent records in World Cup Asian qualifying by extending their group leads with crucial away victories.
After coming agonizingly close to reaching the 2006 World Cup, both sides boosted their chances of making the 2010 finals.
Bahrain beat battling Thailand 3-2 and Uzbekistan pounded Southeast Asian champions Singapore 7-3.
Japan comfortably saw off Oman 3-0 in Yokohama to move within three points of Bahrain in Group 2, while United Arab Emirates kept their lead in the all-Middle East Group 5 after holding struggling heavyweights Iran to a goalless draw.
The Gulf champions, who have not reached the finals since the 1990 tournament, now have five points from three matches, with three-times Asian Cup winners Iran second after their three draws.
— With input from agencies
