In their penultimate friendly before the World Cup, Saudi Arabia’s only shot on goal in a 3-0 defeat to Peru on Sunday came in the 86th minute and was struck by Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi, a second-half substitute who found out a few hours later he will not travel to Russia. If that is alarming, consider this: Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi has also left Nawaf Al-Abed, the country’s most creative player, out of his 23-man squad.
On a pleasant evening in Switzerland, Pizzi selected a second-string side that looked out of its depth even before the match had kicked off. In front of 18,000 expectant Peruvians, the it was always going to be
something of an away match for
Pizzi’s players.
Al-Abed had been selected to start, but approached Pizzi before kick-off and requested he be withdrawn.
The Al-Hilal playmaker was crucial in World Cup qualifying, scoring five goals and proving an innovative, inventive outlet in midfield. Yet he has struggled to recover after undergoing surgery on a groin injury in January and, ahead of what would have been his first start in five months, he told Pizzi he did not feel ready and was reluctant to burden his teammates.
The coach reluctantly accepted, eventually bringing him on as a substitute for the final 22 minutes.
Unsurprisingly, the 28-year-old looked well off the pace.
But rather than field questions about the omitted playmaker,
afterwards Pizzi was left to explain the friendly defeat that began with Andre Carrillo’s exceptional volley from outside the penalty box,
sending the Peruvians one-goal up.
“The teams were pretty similar for the first 20 minutes or so, but after one piece of exceptional individual talent, we went behind and that changed the shape of the match,” said Pizzi.
“We struggled after the goal and found it difficult to get the ball into the areas we want to be in.”
If there was any positive for Pizzi to take from the defeat it was that his team’s fitness levels appear to be high. In the closing stages, it was Saudi Arabia who finished stronger. Moments after Al-Kuwaykibi’s shot on goal, Taisir Al-Jassim worked an opening only to see his strike deflect onto the crossbar.
“We had to defend a lot in the second half,” said Pizzi.
“But even then, we had a great chance late on and could have scored. We have work still to do, but the World Cup has not started yet.”
With the side’s final friendly match coming against world champions Germany on Friday, Peru had been billed as the team’s best chance of a morale-boosting win before they get their World Cup campaign under way against hosts Russia on June 14.
Defeating a side ranked 11th in the world and arriving in St. Gallen unbeaten in 13 games, however, was never going to be easy.
That task was made all the more difficult when Peru coach Ricardo Gareca recalled Paolo Guerrero, their talismanic captain and all-time leading goalscorer who had been absent for eight months due to an ongoing doping case.
With a back-four playing together for the first time and a midfield lacking a defensive figure, the Green Falcons failed to settle and struggled for rhythm.
Salman Al-Faraj’s sloppy pass in the middle of the park almost handed Peru an early lead, while Al-Mayouf spilled the first effort at his goal. Salem Al-Dawsari provided a rare Saudi Arabian spark going forward, powering past two defenders, but the attack came to nothing.
The Argentine may consider
Carrillo’s looping volley from
outside the penalty box exceptional, but other more objective observers would most likely point to the calamitous defending that immediately preceded it. Additionally, the shot was struck without pressure after Hussain Al-Mogahwi’s aimless clearance fell straight into the Watford
winger’s lap with nobody near him.
Twenty minutes later, Guerrero marked his return with a goal after Al-Mayouf parried Edison Flores’ shot into his path. The Peruvian striker had not scored for his country since last June, but grabbed his second in the 64th minute. Carrillo was fed the ball wide on the left, turned quickly, and picked out the unmarked forward whose downward header bounced past Al-Mayouf.
Guerrero said he expects more difficult opponents in the weeks to come. Peru have been drawn in a group with Denmark, France and Australia. “I believe we have to keep our humility. We have not won anything yet,” he said. “We have to improve because the World Cup matches will be tougher.”
Saudi Arabia stumble does not bode well for World Cup
Saudi Arabia stumble does not bode well for World Cup
- Juan Antonio Pizzi sees positives after 3-0 defeat.
- 'We still have work to do but World Cup not started yet' Argentine coach says.
Al-Qadsiah victory over Al-Khaleej tightens Saudi Pro League title race
- Brendan Rodgers’ side now sit fourth on 43 points, four behind league leaders Al-Hilal
- Points dropped by Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli on Monday blow the title race wide open
RIYADH: Matchday 20 of the Saudi Pro League concluded after what was arguably the most dramatic week of the season, both on and off the pitch.
Monday saw the winter transfer window come to a close with late twists — most notably the transfer of Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal — alongside the highly anticipated clash between Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli. While all eyes were on that fixture, Al-Qadsiah quietly continued their unbeaten run with a 1-0 victory over Al-Khaleej, extending it to 10 matches.
With the campaign now beyond its halfway point, there is no telling who will become champion come end of the season. As things stand, Al-Hilal sit top with 47 points, followed by city rivals Al-Nassr on 46 points. In third place, Al-Ahli on 44 points, with Al-Qadsiah just behind on 43.
Al-Qadsiah’s win was anything but easy, however. Under Brendan Rodgers, one-goal victories had previously only come against against heavyweights such as Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad. Games against Al-Riyadh, Al-Fayha, Al-Hazem and Al-Najma — all in the bottom half of the table — were won by two goals or more.
Giorgos Donis’ Al-Khaleej presented a different challenge. Finding themselves in the upper mid-table this season thanks to stellar performances from the likes of Giorgos Masouras, Joshua King and Kostas Fortounis, it was never going to be easy for Al-Qadsiah, even in the absence of Fortounis due to injury.
It seemed like the flurry of games finally took its toll on the Knight of the East, with stars Julian Quinones and Musab Al-Juwayr looking fatigued. In the 38 days since Rodgers took charge at Al-Qadsiah, the side have played 10 matches, with five more to come in the next 23 days.
Despite 18 attempts at goal, only one came to fruition. A through ball to Quinones in the 41st minute was squared to Mateo Retegui, who finished into an open net to score the only goal of the game.
Al-Qadsiah didn’t sit back for the remainder of the game, prompting Al-Khaleej to take advantage of the spaces in behind the wing-backs to launch their own offence. Saudi national team centre-back Jehad Thekri was repeatedly left exposed, but backup goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar did his best to prevent Al-Khaleej from finding an equaliser.
Despite being the week which saw the title race tighten to just four points between first and fourth, this was the second-lowest scoring Saudi Pro League matchday in history, with just nine goals across the nine games. None of the 18 teams were able to score more than one goal, with half the sides going goalless this round.
Elsewhere, just minutes away at E’GO Stadium, Al-Ettifaq managed to secure a valuable 1-0 victory against this campaign’s surprise package Al-Taawoun, after a 71st minute strike from Georginio Wijnaldum.
Meanwhile, Al-Kholood ended their streak of 18 games without a draw by grabbing a point in a 0-0 draw against Damac. The point for both sides was enough to see them end the round outside the relegation zone; Al-Kholood in 14th with 16 points and Damac in 15th with 12.
Saudi Pro League action returns on Thursday, with Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal continuing their title charges against Al-Hazem and Al-Okhdood respectively. Friday will feature the game of the round, with Al-Nassr welcoming Al-Ittihad at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.
