LONDON: Saudi Arabia coach Juan Antonio Pizzi said he will be scouring the Saudi Professional League in search of a goalscoring striker to solve what he describes as “a deficiency” in the team’s attack after he named his squad for Saudi Arabia’s international friendly against Iraq in Basra next month.
The Green Falcons scored just two goals in 270 minutes of football during a camp in Portugal under former coach Edgardo Bauza and scored only 17 goals in 10 matches during the third and final round of World Cup qualifying. Only six of those goals were scored by strikers, Al-Nassr’s Mohammad Al-Sahlawi leading the way with two. Pizzi, a forward himself during his playing days, knows he needs to find a cutting edge up front if his Saudi Arabia team are to make an impression in Group A at this summer’s World Cup.
“We know about the deficiency in attack we have in the team but in our opinion all the players here, the doors are open for them to be with us and we will attend matches in the Saudi league and look at all the players and all the strikers,” Pizzi said.
“All the players here that want to play, will be with us and we will call them all up. But that does not mean the first squad list at the training camp will be the ones at the World Cup. They have a long way to go and we have a long time to look at the players and hopefully we will select the best players who will perform well at the World Cup.”
Pizzi is yet to take charge of a game since replacing Bauza but spent all of last week with 25 players at a Riyadh training camp.
“The experience of the first training camp has been a very good one, we are very happy because all of the players were present so we could get to know them,” he said.
“It was a very good experience and hopefully in the second training camp, the experience will be the same and we will have more players. For sure we will converse with them and we will be present to watch the players in the Saudi league.
“Fundamentally the first training camp was to get to know the players, to understand the style of play, what they needed, to have a look at their capacities and capacity so we wanted the first training camp to be without a friendly match but in the second training camp there will be a friendly match.”
The Green Falcons will reconvene on Feb. 21 for another training camp followed by a friendly with Iraq in Basra six days later. Pizzi, who used to be in charge of Chile, is pleased with what he saw.
“For us the capabilities and capacities of the players are of a high ability and they have good ability with the ball and play in a very good way and we have shown them our ideas and the style of play which hopefully they will accept and learn,” he said.
Pizzi has coached in Argentina, Peru, Spain and Chile and encountered his fair share of problems. He is hoping for a smoother ride in charge of the Green Falcons.
Juan Antonio Pizzi in search of firepower for Saudi Arabia
Juan Antonio Pizzi in search of firepower for Saudi Arabia
Bangladesh replaced by Scotland at T20 World Cup, reports say
- Bangladesh had asked the ICC to move their games to the tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka instead
- Scotland, the highest-ranked non-qualifier, are now set to take Bangladesh’s place in Group C
DUBAI: Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup after the South Asian side refused to travel to co-hosts India, media reports said on Saturday citing sources within the sport’s governing International Cricket Council.
The decision follows weeks of uncertainty, during which the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) repeatedly insisted it would not play its scheduled matches in India, citing safety concerns following soured political relations between the neighbors.
Bangladesh had asked the ICC to move their games to the tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka instead, but the governing body rejected the demand, dismissing any security threat to the team.
Scotland, the highest-ranked non-qualifier, are now set to take Bangladesh’s place in Group C, which features England, Italy, Nepal and West Indies, the BBC reported.
Reuters has contacted the ICC, BCB and Cricket Scotland for comment.
PROTESTS NEAR BANGLADESH HIGH COMMISSION
Last month, hundreds of people protested near Bangladesh’s High Commission in New Delhi after Hindu factory worker Dipu Chandra Das was beaten and set on fire in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district by a crowd that accused him of making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad.
A total of 12 people were arrested in connection with his death.
The incident worsened relations between India and its neighbor, with ties already strained after Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to New Delhi following protests against her.
Political tensions have spilled into cricket.
Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from this year’s Indian Premier League despite signing with its Kolkata franchise. Bangladesh responded by banning IPL broadcasts in the country and demanding to play World Cup matches in Sri Lanka.
The standoff mirrors previous tensions in South Asian cricket.
For the Champions Trophy last year, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) stuck to its policy of not touring Pakistan because of the strained political ties between the bitter neighbors, who play each other only in ICC events.
Like for the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan, a ‘hybrid model’ was agreed on under which India were allowed to play their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai to salvage the tournament.
Under the agreement running until 2027, Pakistan will play in a neutral venue for any ICC event, including the T20 World Cup where they are scheduled to play their matches in Sri Lanka.
The 20-team World Cup is set to begin on February 7.
