DOHA: Mexico suffered an agonizing exit from the World Cup on goal difference on Wednesday despite beating Saudi Arabia 2-1 in a dramatic finale to Group C.
Second-half goals from Henry Martin and Luis Chavez secured victory for Mexico but they finished third behind Poland after Salem Al-Dawsari’s late strike.
Mexico desperately pushed for a third goal in an effort to improve their goal difference as they faced elimination on FIFA fair play rules.
Saudi Arabia’s win over Argentina in their opening match was one of the World Cup’s great upsets, but they crashed back down to earth with a 2-0 loss to Poland in their second game.
Coach Herve Renard urged his players to show that was no flash in the pan and write themselves into Saudi football history by reaching knockout rounds for the first time since 1994.
Having failed to win either of their first two group games for the first time in 44 years, Mexico knew victory was essential if they were to stand a chance of reaching the last 16 at an eighth successive World Cup.
Mexico boss Gerardo Martino ditched the back five he used in the 2-0 loss to Argentina and brought in Martin to lead the attack.
It almost reaped immediate rewards but Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais raced out to block Alexis Vega after he was slipped in behind the defense by Hirving Lozano.
Al-Owais, one of the heroes of the 2-1 win over Argentina, tentatively palmed away a bouncing cross ahead of a lunging Martin and held weak attempts by Chavez and Orbelin Pineda.
Mohamed Kanno whipped a free-kick just over for Saudi Arabia, who saw defender Ali Al-Bulayhi forced off with injury — adding to their mounting casualty list.
Mexico continued to attack without success and Ali Al-Hassan nearly sent the bulk of the largely Saudi crowd wild late in the first half with a diving header that flashed wide of the far post.
Chavez tested Al-Owais right after the interval and Martin soon broke the deadlock as he turned in from close range following Cesar Montes’ clever flick-on at a corner.
Mexico’s second goal arrived just five minutes later when Chavez sensationally curled a free-kick into the top corner from 30 meters.
Keeping an eye on the score between Argentina and Poland, Mexico pushed relentlessly for a third goal, with Lozano’s effort ruled out for a tight offside.
Martin blazed over when he had a glorious chance and Chavez had another free-kick turned away by Al-Owais, who also sprawled to his right to claw out a drive from Lozano.
Uriel Antuna then had another goal disallowed for offside before Al-Dawsari’s late strike put an end to the drama.
Salem Al-Dawsari’s strike too late for Green Falcons as Mexico prevail 2-1
https://arab.news/ggzj7
Salem Al-Dawsari’s strike too late for Green Falcons as Mexico prevail 2-1
- Second-half goals from Henry Martin and Luis Chavez secured victory for Mexico but they finished third behind Poland in the group
- Ali Al-Hassan nearly sent the bulk of the largely Saudi crowd wild late in the first half with a diving header that flashed wide of the far post
Rajkovic excels as Al-Ittihad cruise to victory against Al-Shabab
- Al-Ittihad secure fifth Saudi Pro League win of the season with a 2-0 victory
JEDDAH: It has not been the start to the season that Al-Ittihad fans had anticipated. Nevertheless, on their return to Saudi Pro League action after a 36-day hiatus, the defending champions delivered a performance that offered renewed confidence ahead of a demanding run of seven matches in the space of 30 days.
The opening exchanges proved far from straightforward for The Tigers.
Attempting to play out from the back, they were punished within the first two minutes as Abdullah Matuq pounced on a mistake to find himself one-on-one with Predrag Rajkovic, only for the Serbian goalkeeper to produce the first of several crucial saves. Just 60 seconds later, Rajkovic was called into action again, this time denying a header from a corner.
Momentum soon shifted. Roger Fernandes began to cause problems down the left wing, his quick footwork getting the better of Al-Shabab’s defence before he delivered a low cross into the box. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, aided by Karim Benzema’s intelligent screening of Saad Balobaid, met it to open the scoring in the 16th minute.
Al-Ittihad came close to doubling their advantage in the 28th minute. Mohannad Al-Shangeeti struck the far post with a powerful effort, before his follow-up attempt narrowly missed the target, drifting wide of Marcelo Grohe’s goal.
Grohe was later called upon to keep Al-Shabab in the contest, producing a fine save in the 58th minute to deny Benzema after the Frenchman was released by a perfectly weighted pass from Steven Bergwijn.
Al-Ittihad continued to dominate possession, though Imanol Alguacil’s side managed to limit Fernandes’ influence by committing extra defensive cover on the left flank.
That adjustment failed to account for Al-Shangeeti’s runs from deep, as he surged down the right to find Bergwijn, who finished first time to seal the contest for the hosts in the 85th minute.
Late substitute Abdulaziz Al-Bishi thought he had added a third in the closing stages, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The win lifts Al-Ittihad into sixth place on 17 points, while Al-Shabab remain just two points above the relegation zone, extending their winless run to eight matches since their Matchday 2 victory over Al-Hazem.
