DUBAI: Saudi Arabia have been drawn alongside Qatar, Lebanon and North Korea in Group B of the 2019 Asian Cup.
Green Falcons coach Juan Antonio Pizzi was in attendance for the official draw, which took place at the Armani Hotel, in the shadow of Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa.
Saudi Arabia are three-time Asian Cup champions but have not won the competition since 1996, the last time it was held in the UAE.
To claim a fourth title, the Green Falcons will first have to engineer a way past Qatar, Lebanon and North Korea.
Then their last-16 opponents would be from Group F, which contains Japan, Uzbekistan, Oman and Turkmenistan.
Saudi Arabia last played Qatar in the final of the 2014 Gulf Cup, losing 2-1 in Riyadh. They have met three times previously in the Asian Cup group stage, all of which finished as draws — in 1984, 1992 and most recently in 2000.
The last competitive meeting between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon was a 2010 World Cup qualifier in Riyadh, which the hosts won 2-1. The two nations more recently played out a 1-1 friendly draw in October 2014 in Jeddah, Omar Othman Hawsawi opening the scoring for the Green Falcons before Hassan Fallatah’s goal earned Lebanon a draw.
North Korea were defeated 4-1 in the group stage in 2005, while Saudi Arabia lost and drew with them during 2010 World Cup qualification.
After failing to progress from their group at the 2011 and 2015 editions of the Asian Cup, expectations will be much higher this time after they qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 12 years.
And with the Asian Cup draw having been made, all attention will be immediately focused on this summer’s showpiece in Russia. There Pizzi and Co. will face the hosts, Uruguay and Arab rivals Egypt.
Saudi Arabia get tough group for 2019 Asian Cup
Saudi Arabia get tough group for 2019 Asian Cup
- Green Falcons drawn against Qatar, Lebanon and North Korea.
- Pizzi's men will be looking to win first Asian Cup since 1996, when the tournament was last held in the UAE.
Hakimi declared fit for hosts Morocco’s AFCON bid
RABAT: Morocco captain and star player Achraf Hakimi is fit and ready for the host nation’s Africa Cup of Nations bid but may not start in the tournament’s opening game, coach Walid Regragui said on Saturday.
“Tomorrow will be my decision but he has more than done his job. His injury was not an easy one,” Regragui told reporters in Rabat where Morocco play minnows Comoros in the first match on Sunday.
“I still have another night to sleep and decide whether he starts or whether we protect him and see how it goes for the remaining games.
“He is able to start, but he might not start.”
Paris Saint-Germain right-back Hakimi, the African player of the year, has not played since coming off with a left ankle injury in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich on November 4.
The 27-year-old left the field in tears that night, clearly fearing for his chances of featuring at the Cup of Nations. The injury was later diagnosed as a severe sprain.
“I feel good. I am following the program given to me by the medical staff and the coach,” Hakimi, who also came sixth in this year’s Ballon d’Or ranking, said Saturday.
Regragui added: “He has made sacrifices over the last four or five weeks that nobody else could have made, and has set an example to the other players and the staff.
“Today we can see that the protocol we put in place after his injury has been more than positive but now we have the whole competition to manage.”
Morocco will also face Mali and Zambia in Group A as they bid to win a first Cup of Nations since 1976.
The tournament runs into the New Year and will finish with the final in Rabat on January 18.
