The Dutch ace beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to take pole position for the sprint race
sports2 hours ago
Saudi Arabia began their AFC Asian Cup campaign on a winning note by swamping 10-man North Korea at the Rashid Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Asian heavyweights, champions in 1984, 1988 and 1996, when the tournament was played here in the UAE, whipped up a 4-0 win in Group E.
Midfielder Hatan Bahbri whipped the first one into the far corner of the net on 28 minutes and defender Mohammed Al Fatil then came up with a brilliant backheel. Captain Salem Al Dawsari then made it 3-0 with a curling left-footer on 70 minutes and Fahad Al Muwallad rounded it off with the fourth, three minutes from time.
Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi couldn't have asked for a better start from his lads, especially after they had failed to progress from the group in the last two editions.
Though it is still some way to go, Saudi Arabia, making their 10th appearance in the continental competition, will now be looking to resume their fine record where they were finalists in six of their first seven participations.
Apart from winning it thrice, Saudi Arabia have ended up as runners-up on three occasions as well. It also halted a poor run where they had lost six of their last seven matches in the competition.
Meanwhile, for North Korea, who lost to Saudi Arabia 4-1 in their only previous meeting in the Asian Cup in 2015, it continued a wretched run where they have now lost 10 of their last 11 fixtures in the competition.
The last time North Korea won a match in the tournament was against Syria in 1980. On that occasion, they won 2-1 and that was the only time they progressed beyond the group stages to eventually finish fourth.
Just as the crowd was streaming in, the game took a bit of time to warm up before Saudi Arabia had the first crack at goal. But Abdulaziz Al Bishi's curling left-footer just whizzed past the post.
Saudi Arabia slowly turned on the heat and had as many as four corners within the first 25 minutes. And they should have gone ahead on 24 minutes but Mohammed Al Burayk failed to get a touch despite making a valiant attempt by sliding down the pitch.
But the opener duly arrived four minutes later with Bahbri dinking past defender Ri Il-Jin before firing it into the far corner of the net.
North Korea had done admirably well until then to set up a defiant wall to deny Saudi Arabia. They had their best chance of the half and an opportunity to cancel out the lead on 35 minutes but Han Kwang Song headed it wide from close range.
Song's night was to turn from bad to worse as he was sent off for a second booking after he had hacked into Hussain Almoqahwi, with a minute left in the half.
Prior to that, Al Fatil added cushion to Saudi Arabia's lead on 37 minutes with a fine backheel following a cross from Almoqahwi.
Al Dawsari curled his left-footer in from just inside the box on 70 minutes and Muwallad wrapped it up with three minutes left on the clock.
james@khaleejtimes.com
The Dutch ace beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to take pole position for the sprint race
sports2 hours ago
Extreme heat has blasted Asia from India to the Philippines in recent weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers for cooling rain
asia2 hours ago
Special attention is directed towards controlling mosquitoes in stagnant water, ministry says
uae3 hours ago
That's why we have the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), which is to open up doors for people who are in trouble, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said
asia3 hours ago
King Abdullah II last visited the White House in February when he called for an immediate ceasefire
mena4 hours ago
Fujairah Airport earlier said it would connect the emirate to 18 new destinations
aviation5 hours ago
They were chauffeured in Ferrari and Bentley cars and got to dance to their heart's content in a private yacht party
uae5 hours ago
The country is prone to landslides during the rainy season, with the problem aggravated in some places by deforestation
asia5 hours ago