Japan players celebrate Japan’s fourth goal during a 2002 World Cup and AFC Asian Qualifier match between Japan and China at the Saitama Stadium in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Thursday, September 5, 2024.
11:41 JST, September 9, 2024
While players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are popular with Saudi Arabian club fans, Roberto Mancini is concerned that his national team players are not getting enough time in the league to prepare for World Cup qualifying.
Saudi Arabia were among the leading Asian teams to struggle in the third round of continental World Cup qualifying last week. The Saudis were beaten 1-1 by Indonesia, the lowest-ranked of the six teams in Group C. On Tuesday, a crucial match against China is scheduled for Mancini’s team in Dalian.
“We have had problems taking chances, which has become clear in the last few games,” said Mancini.
With most clubs in the Saudi Pro League using their full quota of 10 foreign players, Mancini, who quit his job as Italy coach a year ago to join the Saudi Arabian national team, complains that local players are not getting enough action.
“The Saudi Arabia national team players have to play as core players for their clubs,” Mancini said. “I have 20 players on the bench for local games.”
He said there needs to be more cooperation between the national team and the clubs.
Australia’s bid to qualify for a sixth consecutive World Cup was thwarted by a shock 1-0 defeat to Bahrain.
“It’s a learning curve for the players. It wasn’t our night,” said Socceroos coach Graham Arnold. “You could see physically that they were ready for us. These things happen in football, it’s how you get over them.”
Australia face a relatively short trip to Jakarta to take on a much-improved Indonesian team backed by 60,000 fans. “We fear no one and we are looking forward to the challenge,” Indonesian coach Shin Tae-yong said.
The Japanese team celebrates the victory over China after a 2002 World Cup and AFC Asian Qualifier match between Japan and China at the Saitama Stadium in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Thursday, September 5, 2024.
The Group C leaders meet when Bahrain hosts Japan, who opened the tournament with a convincing 7-0 win over China.
The 18 teams in the third qualifying round are divided into three groups of six. The top two from each group automatically qualify for the World Cup. The teams that finish third and fourth advance to a fourth round to compete for two more places.
South Korea also started Group B with a disappointing result, drawing 0-0 with the Palestinian team in Seoul. Led by English Premier League stars Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan and Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in, South Korea travel to Muscat to face Oman, who lost 1-0 to Iraq.
Son suggested that the poor condition of the pitch in Seoul was a reason for the outcome.
“We couldn’t play at a high tempo and I’m sure the fans were disappointed with that,” Son said. “The fact that the pitch conditions are better for away games is unfortunate, but I think it’s also fortunate for us at the same time.”
The Palestinians will play Jordan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, because the team cannot host home games. Jordan drew 1-1 with Kuwait in the opening match and will now face Iraq, the only team in the group to have won.
In Group A, the United Arab Emirates won 3-1 at Qatar and this week host Iran, who also have three points on the scoreboard after beating Kyrgyzstan 1-0. Qatar, the host country of the 2022 World Cup, has never qualified for the tournament and will face North Korea.
