Renard eyes big support in Qatar, Arnold calls for Australians to admire Saudi football

Salem Al Dawsari’s penalty five minutes after the hour-mark brought Saudi Arabia back to the summit of their group of the AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to Qatar™ following Japan’s 1-1 home draw against Vietnam earlier on the day.

A sixth appearance at the FIFA World Cup for Saudi Arabia was achieved emphatically with just one defeat along the way, a 2-0 reversal in Japan on Matchday Eight, and the result marked a second consecutive successful qualification for Renard who had led Morocco to Russia 2018.

Goals from Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh put paid to the Cedars’ hopes of reaching June’s AFC playoff, although UAE’s later victory over Korea Republic meant even a Lebanese win on the night wouldn’t have helped them pull off the miracle turnaround required to extend their campaign.

While they came into the match at Imam Reza Stadium with full of hope, Lebanon’s defeat meant they slipped to last place in Group A, with their final tally of six points from 10 matches illustrative of a campaign which slipped away in the final two matches.

Nguyen Thanh Binh gave the Golden Star Warriors a surprise lead in the 19th minute before Japan equalised through Maya Yoshida nine minutes after the interval but, despite wave after wave of Japanese attacks and two disallowed goals, Vietnam held out for a memorable point.

While the Southeast Asians ultimately finished bottom of the standings in what was their maiden appearance in the final round of AFC Asian Qualifiers, the hard-fought draw was the first time they had avoided defeat against the Samurai Blue and their first point away from home in Group B.