Saudi Arabia routs RI 3-0 in World Cup qualifier<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia showed its supremacy as it crushed Indonesia 3-0
\nin their opening Group 8 World Cup qualifying match at Riyadh's
\nKing Fahd Stadium on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Ibrahim al-Sewid scored two goals in the fourth and 39th
\nminutes, while Yasser Qahtani booked the other goal a minute
\nbefore the end of the first half for the host, which dominated
\nthe match and squandered several second half chances.<\/p>\n
National team manager Andi Darussalam Tabussala said Saudi
\nArabia exposed big weaknesses in the left defensive line and
\nmidfield of the Indonesian squad.<\/p>\n
"We will evaluate our team and try to find a solution to mend
\nour weaknesses. Head coach Ivan Kolev will reshuffle the team
\nbefore facing Turkmenistan in the next game," Andi was quoted by
\nAntara as saying.<\/p>\n
The result followed Indonesia's two losses to Saudi Arabia
\nduring the Asian Cup qualifying round last October.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia outplayed Indonesia 6-0 and 5-0 in those games.
\nIndonesia, however, still qualified for the Asian Cup, to be held
\nin China, as the group runner-up.<\/p>\n
With Saudi Arabia heavy favorites to win its World Cup group,
\nIndonesia will again be looking for a second place finish to
\nadvance to the next round.<\/p>\n
"Saudi Arabia is obviously difficult to beat. They are
\ncertainly looking the group winner. But Indonesia must save some
\npride by trying at least to finish as runner-up," Andi said.<\/p>\n
The second round of Asian qualifying consists of 32 teams
\nsplit into eight groups of four. The group winners advance to the
\nnext stage.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will visit Turkmenistan, a 2-0 winner over Sri
\nLanka, on March 31.<\/p>\n
South Korea and Japan started strong in their opening World
\nCup qualifiers, while Palestine recorded the biggest win by
\ntrouncing Chinese Taipei 8-0.<\/p>\n
South Korea, which reached the semifinals at the 2002 World
\nCup, blanked Lebanon 2-0 on Wednesday, while Japan topped Oman 1-
\n0 and China nipped Kuwait 1-0, AP reported.<\/p>\n
In Seoul, forward Cha Du-ri scored South Korea's first goal in
\nthe 32nd minute, heading in a low-flying pass from Lee Young-pyo.
\nCho Byung-kuk made it 2-0 in the 50th minute with a header off a
\ncorner pass from Park Ji-sung.<\/p>\n
In Saitama, Japan, substitute Tatsuhiko Kubo scored three
\nminutes into injury time as Japan squeaked past Oman 1-0.<\/p>\n
With just over a minute remaining, Kubo picked up a loose ball
\nin front of the net and fired past Oman goalkeeper Ali Abdullah
\nHarib Al Habsi as Japan took advantage of a defensive breakdown
\nby their opponents.<\/p>\n
In Guangzhou, China, veteran striker Hao Haidong headed the
\nball into an open net in the 74th minute to lead China past 10-
\nman Kuwait 1-0.<\/p>\n
Kuwait, coached by Brazilian Paulo Cesar Carpeggiani, failed
\nto get a single shot on goal.<\/p>\n
The Kuwaitis began to show their frustration in the latter
\nminutes of the game, with Hamad Al-Tayar sent off for spitting in
\nthe face of China's Li Weifeng after an exchange of words.<\/p>\n
Other results: India 1, Singapore 0; Iran 3, Qatar 1; Jordan
\n5, Laos 0; Uzbekistan 1, Iraq 1; Malaysia 1, Hong Kong 3; United
\nArab Emirates 1, Thailand 0; Yemen 1, North Korea 1; Bahrain 2,
\nSyria 1; Kyrgyzstan 1, Tajikistan 2; Vietnam 4, Maldives 0.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/saudi-arabia-routs-ri-3-0-in-world-cup-qualifier-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}