SAUDI ARABIA vs IRAN

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 Qualifying rounds

PREVIEW

Group B: Daei looks to end Saudi jinx
Saudi Arabia-Iran, Riyadh, 6 September, 22:15 (local time)

If their performance in the previous qualifying round is anything to go by, it seems that Iran, under the legendary Ali Daei, are set to pose Saudi Arabia serious problems. Yet Saudi Arabia boast a proud record against Iran over the past decade and a half, having progressed to FIFA World Cup finals at the Iranians' expense on no fewer than three occasions.

Daei is determined to change this, and with a host of youthful talents complementing the experienced old heads, Iran are more than capable of turning the tables this time round. "We are going there looking for a win, not just a draw," the former star striker vowed.

Iran coach Ali Daei, however, has warned not to underestimate his team, which rebounded from a year of misfiring and shoddy play to win their group in the last round.

“Saudi Arabia is our traditional opponent, with good players and team composition, but we have prepared ourselves well for this encounter,” Daei told reporters.

“These players are the best in Iranian football, they are highly motivated, ambitious.”

Iran's squad arrived in Riyadh on Thursday and conducted two training sessions, including a practise in the King Fahad stadium , the venue for the game on Saturday. National soccer team head coach Ali Daei has declared that the Iranian squad will not lose to Saudi Arabia in the capital Riyadh.

"The current group of players is the best in Iranian football, they are highly motivated, ambitious, and their only aim is the success of the national team," he told reporters upon his arrival in Riyadh on Thursday.

"Saudi Arabia is our traditional opponent, with good players and team composition, but we have prepared ourselves well for this encounter," he added.

Daei pointed out that he had a decent squad capable of going all the way.


Most focus on match day one tomorrow is on Riyadh, where Saudi Arabia hosts Iran in a match between two of the strongest teams in the region.

Iran enters this crucial period distracted by off-field issues after coach Ali Daei omitted former captain and 2006 teammate Mehdi Mahdavikia from his lineup.

“Although there has been a lot of side issues and controversy around the national team recently, I don’t pay any attention to these issues,” Daei said this week. “Undoubtedly, the fittest players will play against Saudi Arabia and no player will be guaranteed to start.”

Better news came from the Spanish league last weekend when Iranian midfielders Javad Nekounam and Masoud Shojaei combined to give Osasuna a 1-1 draw with a formidable Villarreal team. The two have been summoned for national duties along with other European-based stars such as Andranik Teymourian of London club Fulham and Bochum’s Vahid Hashemian.

Saudi Arabian representatives generally prefer to play in local leagues, but traveled for a training camp in Switzerland where they last month drew with Paraguay, lost to Italian club Sampdoria and defeated neighbor Qatar. Group B’s two weakest teams, the UAE and North Korea, meet at Abu Dhabi, with both needing to get some early points on the standings. Japan’s quest for revenge over Bahrain is the headline match in Group A. The two met in the previous round of qualification and a 1-0 defeat in Manama threatened to scupper Japan’s World Cup chances and the job of coach Takeshi Okada. Okada, who bemoaned his team’s lack of firepower recently, let star player Shunsuke Nakamura stay in Europe for that match, but has called him in this time. The other Group A match tomorrow has Uzbekistan traveling to Qatar, a team missing four players through injury or suspension.

The Iranian outfit faces with Saudi Arabia on September 6 as part of the Asian qualifying round for the 2010 South Africa World Cup.

Saudi Arabia coach Nasser Al Johar wants to prove that he is not an emergency coach.

RIYADH – Saudi Arabia coach Nasser Al Johar is keen to get down to business on Saturday when his team resume their campaign to qualify for a fifth consecutive World Cup with a Group Two clash against Iran at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.

Al Johar replaced Helio Dos Anjos in June when the Brazilian was sacked in the midst of the previous round of the World Cup qualifiers.

Although Al Johar led the Saudis to the 2002 World Cup in one of his many previous spells in charge of the national team, there has been media pressure on the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to sign a better known name to take charge of the team.

However, Al Johar has stood firm and pledged to get a result this weekend in their opening match of the final round in the Asian qualifiers.

“I am not afraid of the game against Iran,” said Al Johar, who saw his side defeat Qatar 2-1 in a friendly in Riyadh last week.

“All I want to do is to win the game and to prove that I am not an emergency coach,” he added.

His job has not been made any easier with the Saudi squad blighted by injuries that have sidelined striker Malek Maaz and defenders Abdullah Al Dousary and Osama Al Harbi and also threatened the participation of Majed Al Amri.

Young Al Shabab striker Faisal Al-Sultan, who scored the winner against Qatar, is expected to replace Maaz while defender Hussain Sulimani who joined Swiss team Neuchatel Xamax this summer is expected to start despite missing all of Saudi Arabia’s warm-up matches.

Iran arrived on Thursday in Riyadh with a full-strength squad including Mehdi Mahdavikia and Vahid Hashemian, both of whom missed the previous round of the World Cup qualifiers.

"Right now, my focus is on our match with Saudi Arabia as it is out first step towards World Cup qualification," said Iran coach Ali Daei.

"Saudi Arabia are our traditional opponents and they have good players and a good team.

“But we have prepared ourselves well for this encounter. I have studied the team during their friendly matches and my players will work to stop the Saudi strikers and their supply line.

"Our current group of players is the best in Iranian football. They are highly motivated, ambitious, and their only aim is the success of the national team,” Daei added.