FOOTBALL – Saudi Arabia claimed a 0-0 draw with Iraq in Jeddah yesterday to seal qualification for next year’s World Cup finals in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Herve Renard’s side only needed a point against Graham Arnold’s Iraq, and an injury-time save by goalkeeper Nawaf Al Aqidi to keep out Hassan Abdulkareem’s curling free kick ensured the Saudis confirmed their progress.
The result means Saudi Arabia win Group B of the fourth round of Asia’s preliminaries, finishing level on four points with the Iraqis but ahead of their neighbours on goals scored after recording a 3-2 win over third-place finishers Indonesia.
Both sides struggled throughout a tense opening 45 minutes played in front of more than 60,000 fans, with Saleh Abu Al Shamat posing the greatest threat to the Iraqi defence as he shot over the bar in the 13th minute.
The Al Ahli forward unlocked the visitors’ defence soon after the restart when he played a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Feras Al Brikan, the striker fizzing a ball across the face of goal from which Saud Abdulhamid shot wide.
Al Shamat continued to cause problems for the visitors but Jalal Hassan threw himself to his left to keep out a goal-bound strike six minutes after the restart.
Hassan then denied Saudi captain Salem Al Dawsari as the opportunities increased in regularity, with Nasser Al Dawsari also frustrated by the Iraqi goalkeeper in the 63rd minute.
A last-ditch tackle by Hassan Al Tambkti stopped Iraqi forward Mohanad Ali on a rare sortie forward 15 minutes from time while Abdulkareem went closest of all for his team deep into injury time.
However, his curling left-foot free kick from 25 yards out was pushed to safety by Al Aqidi when he dived to his right and the Saudis prevailed to qualify for a seventh World Cup since making their debut in 1994.
Qatar handed the UAE a 2-1 defeat to qualify for next year’s World Cup finals yesterday as second-half headers by Boualem Khouki and Pedro Miguel secured their side’s place at the tournament.
Khouki met Akram Afif’s free kick four minutes into the second half to put hosts Qatar ahead and the Asian Player of the Year unlocked the UAE defence again with 16 minutes left, delivering the free kick from which Miguel headed in.
Qatar’s Tarek Salman was sent off in the 89th minute and Sultan Adil pulled one back for the UAE nine minutes later in a nail-biting finish that featured more than 15 minutes of stoppage time.
The win means the Qataris top Group A with four points ahead of the UAE on three and Oman with one in the fourth round of the Asian qualifying competition.
Qatar will be appearing at a second consecutive World Cup finals after making their debut at the finals as hosts in 2022.
England booked their place in next year’s World Cup finals as captain Harry Kane scored twice in a 5-0 romp away to Latvia to ensure they will win qualifying Group K.
There has been little doubt throughout the campaign that England would reach a ninth successive major tournament but now they can officially start rubber-stamping their plans.
Thomas Tuchel’s England have a maximum 18 points from their six games with Albania second on 11 points.
Portugal were forced to delay punching their World Cup ticket after being held to a 2-2 home draw by Hungary yesterday’s qualifier as Dominik Szoboszlai struck a stoppage-time equaliser after two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo had put the hosts ahead.
Portugal could have sealed a place at next year’s finals with a victory that would have clinched top spot in Group F.
But they will now have to wait until November, sitting on 10 points from four matches, five ahead of Hungary, with both teams having two games remaining. Ireland are third with four points.
Italy beat Israel 3-0 at home thanks to a Mateo Retegui double and a late goal from Gianluca Mancini, securing at least a World Cup playoff berth amid tension between police and some demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian march.
Mikel Merino scored twice as Spain eased to a 4-0 victory over Bulgaria, maintaining their flawless start to Europe’s World Cup Qualifiers and moving closer to securing a spot at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Spain’s dominance in Group E remains unchallenged, with Luis de la Fuente’s side leading the standings with 12 points from four matches, scoring 15 goals and conceding none.
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