Japan is the only complete team in our group, the rest shouldn't be underestimated either. All in all, a great preparation for the WC.
Saudi Arabia should eye to take maximum 3 points in all home games (specially against Japan), while take maximum 15 points in first 5 matches. Even a point against Japan will be a bonus
Vietnam is no pushover while taking maximum 3 points in all home games (specially against Japan) should be the main target. Maximum 3 points for game against Oman in Muscat should be the main target as well.
Looking at the schedule, KSA's first four games are crucial as 3 are at home and one away with Oman. Gathering maximum points from these games will set up the tone in the group and they can ease themselves up in the away games. Looking at the current form and players, things look positive for NT but what is worrying is the upcoming Arab Cup which will be held in December. As most of the NT players are made of the big 4/5 clubs in KSA, the players will be representing clubs in the league, ACL, WCQ and now ACL. Not to forget any cup games in the middle ( Kings Cup ). This will surely overburden the players in the latter stages of the qualifications. Salem Dawsari, Salman Faraj and Yasser Shahrani are all part of Olympic Squad which is another worry since all the three are in there late 20's or in early 30's. They can't carry much as before and the NT heavily relies on them. Only thing which can be compromised here is if at all the FA decides to send B-Team to Arab Cup and clubs coaches rotates the players frequently in the league games.
This is the only solution i.e., either send B-Team to Arab Cup OR send U-23 Team. No use to send players and exhaust them for crucial World Cup qualifiers. Saudi has 3 home games (and we know from previous 4 world cup qualifier that how crucial it is to get maximum 3 points of home game) so Saudi should aim to get 9 out of 9 points from 3 home games initially, and 3 points from away game to Oman... Saudi Arabia NT is capable of doing this, the hardest match will be against Japan which Saudi should win if they play with 2 forwards like they played in Asian Cup 2007 in the Semi-Finals which Saudi Arabia won 3-2
If I were Saudi Arabia then I would ensure qualification to World Cup before last 3 matches are played since playing 2 away matches to Japan & China are tough, and playing final game against Australia at home is also a big ask. Must ensure qualification before playing last 3 matches.
Also, Saudi Olympic team though lost all the matches in Olympics in Japan this year, but the team was impressive against Germany. I must say that i earlier thought of Sami Al Naji to be a useless player but he proved me wrong. He has eye for goal and is replacement of Tayseer Al Jasim in the team. The Olympic team lacked proper defense and Salman Al Faraj carelessly gave away ball to opponents in the mid-field on many occasion that resulted in opposition to score the goal
I don't blame Salman Faraj performance with olympic team. The guy is playing a lot according to his age and obviously will be fatigued. The team overall played good but the defense as said did not perform well and it will be insane if either of the duo represents the NT again without any core justification. Overall, its back to square one again with NT again failing to show up in the major international competition & the reasons are plenty - - Lack of match winning mentality - No experience in playing in europe which gives you experience to adapt to different conditions - Partiality in selection as the olympic team selection was pure biased. - The younger players ain't getting game time due to 7 foreigners rule and the club are heavily relying on them instead of testing homegrown players. The reasons are plenty but the solutions are very very few happening
KSA gets maximum points from there first game against Vietnam. Nervy start but score should have been higher if finishing was good. Abdullah Otayf injury is big concern but Mohammed Kanoo really did well after coming off.. Next match against Oman who have shocked Japan at there home and are under Branko Ivanovic who once coached Ittifaq. He knows the league and standard of playing very well and can cause problem to the NT. Overall, the NT under Renard is exciting to watch with lots of short passes and classy build up goals but I certainly feel the real test have not yet arrived. Against Oman should be another 3 points until unless....
Indeed, we might have won 5-0 effortlessly in the event that we didn’t waste or freeze so much before the goal. However, the build-up play to induce us into scoring positions has been phenomenal. Oman is next, they are a good team and shouldn't be underestimated. They are the dark horse in our group, winning while playing on Japan's home turf. I wouldn't be shocked to see them within the top 3 at the conclusion of qualifying.
Oman is neither an under dog nor a push over, they are highly competitive side and much better than Vietnam IMO. They beat Japan in Japan whereas many teams including Saudi Arabia get scared playing against Japan in Japan. Oman is at par to win against any team when they play to their potential on any given day. But Saudi Arabia is not less than Oman either. Both teams have same mindset of playing, and where Saudi Arabia might have possession football and buildup play, Oman has sort of counter-attacking, long distance shot at target (goal post), attacking & crossing from the flanks, sort of play. in the end, it will be tough for Saudi Arabia to play against Oman in Oman but if Saudi Plays with attacking mindset and at fast pace then it will cause Oman lot of trouble to coupe with. Key of the match will Saleh, Fahad & Salem
A very cagey affair but a good away win. The team needs Abdullah Otayf to be back soon to consolidate defence in middle of the park. There is no turning back now after this, two home games against China and Japan. China has lost both the games and will be hungry for some points to start of there campaign. Japan bounced back after defeating China. Winning both the games will be crucial and will almost guarantee qualification. Lastly, all in all the NT has finally found striker in Saleh Sehri. This guy is a gem and needs more game time with Hilal to keep his momentum but sadly won't happen. The issue is to fix a back-up who can turn things around. This can't be relied on Abdullah Hamdan. I hope Firas Bireakan or Hazza Al Hazza pick themselves up and get into the team but again you won't get noticed until you play for the big four in the league.
I saw a dream last night (before Fajr) and I hope this dream does not comes true. I saw that Saudi Arabia were leading Japan 2-1 but I went away for few moments before the end of the match and when I came back, I saw Japan won 3-4 in Jeddah against Saudi Arabia... I hope this is only a dream and not a reality to come true.
The problem in current squad it seems is that there's no true replacement for Salem Al Dosary though Al Aboud and Sami Al Najaee seem to have the potential but they are slow and lack pace. Saudi Arabia needs at least 2 pacey mid-fielders similar to Salem Al Dosary. Don't know who would that be.
Also, where can i see the Saudi match against Japan in UAE on TV? Etisalat here is broadcasting KSA Sports 1 to 4 but they are not broadcasting the matches. It shows on goalzz.com that matches are being broadcasted on SSC1 to SSC7 but these channels are not available in Etisalat in UAE. So, how to watch the matches? Any online link?
Very sloppy football by Saudi Arabia, losing the ball in important positions and giving away ball to Japan too softly... Saudi Arabia should consider themselves to be lucky not to be at least 2 goals down, had it been an in form Japan then they would have had absolutely toyed with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia not passing the ball to forward line and too slow in passing the ball to up front when it comes to counter-attack time... Hope Saudi plays better in 2nd Half, Insha Allah
Al Hamdulillah, that's all comes on my lips, Al Hamdulillah... I was always on my toes watching Saudi playing against Japan... Saudi extremely lucky to get 3 points from Japan at home... Al Hamdulillah The Saudi Coach should teach Saudi players not to give away balls to opponent via sloppy play... got lucky that Japan did not capitalized on Saudi players individual mistakes... At the end, my emotions are running high with the excitement of this Saudi win against Japan... Bravo, 3 points, specially at home, were important.
We got the 3 points we wanted, but the overall performance left a lot to be desired. We were saved by the keeper on few occasions who made a outstanding performance. All in all, the players played with character and gave a good performance, but we can not afford to make these individual silly mistakes, otherwise our opponents will take advantage of it. The next upcoming match is against China, based on their performance, im confident we got the 3 point in our bag.
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Australia will be without key playmakers Tom Rogic and Aaron Mooy, along with forward Adam Taggart, for their pivotal World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia on 11th Nov 2021. Rogic is nursing a hamstring strain and China-based Mooy unable to travel due to contractual issues. Japan-based Taggart was scratched after suffering a knee injury playing for Osaka. There is also a query over forward Martin Boyle, who is caught up in a COVID-19 outbreak at his Scottish club Hibernian, but Arnold said on Friday he was confident he would be cleared in time. Australia's 11-match winning streak was snapped by Japan in the last qualifying window. The Socceroos start a new run in Sydney, their first match on home soil in more than two years. Australia have not played at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak since defeating Nepal 5-0 in Canberra in October 2019.They will have the support of up to 30,000 people at Western Sydney Stadium after authorities lifted caps on crowd sizes as COVID-19 vaccination rates rise. Arnold selected more home-based players. He has recalled four from the A-League, experienced winger Mathew Leckie, forwards Jamie Maclaren and Andrew Nabbout, and defender Rhyan Grant. Norway-based defensive midfielder Gianni Stensness, who has switched allegiance to Australia after representing New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics, is the only uncapped player in the 24-man squad. Australia's following qualifier is against China on Nov. 16 at Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. This is good opportunity to gain at least a point if not 3 from down under.
Viewed post match highlights and there are small mistakes done by Saudi Goal Keeper that went unpunished by Aussies due to Luck on Saudi side. On 15th Minute and 57 seconds, the Saudi Goal Keeper did a very stupid play which was too dangerous and luckily went unpunished. He minus the ball to defender while being away from his goal and Australian forward in front of it. If by chance Aussie player had slightly touched the ball then it could have got deflected into open and guardless goal. This was not a good thing to do by the goalie. Also, on occasions, the goalie chose the deflect the ball instead of catching it. Even if the goalie was deflecting / punching the ball then he was not doing it on his sides, he was pushing the ball back infront of the goal which could have gone to Australian players legs and thats what happened when Australia took the free kick in 2nd half which was wrongly pushed back in front of Aussie player out the 6 yard box instead of Goalie pushing it sideways so, these 2 were the mistakes done by the goal keeper which luckily went unpunished.
KSA won 1-0 against Vietnam today, adding 3 important points on their lead. Now, for KSA to secure the leading position, it need's their closest rivals to drop some points against their opponents. It will give KSA a firm position and a massive boost forward.