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