Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Muscat: Saudi Arabia and Oman cancelled each other out as the Gulf rivals made a stuttering start to their respective Group D campaigns following a goalless stalemate in their 2014 FIFA World Cup, third round qualifier on Friday.
Both sides had to battle through a second round qualifier with the Saudis enjoying an 8-0 aggregate victory over Hong Kong and Oman advancing after their second-leg against Myanmar in Yangon being abandoned due to crowd trouble with the Gulf Sultanate leading 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate.
But while Oman coach Paul Le Guen and his Saudi Arabia counterpart, former Netherlands and Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard, will be pleased that their backline kept a clean sheet at the Seeb Stadium, the failure to repeat the goal-scoring performance of the second qualification round will be of some concern going into the next Group D fixtures on Tuesday.
The Saudis, who are looking to qualify for the World Cup finals for the fifth time after missing out on South Africa 2010, play host to Group D leaders Australia while Oman travel to Bangkok to face a Thailand side aiming to bounce back from letting a half-time lead slip to lose 2-1 to the Socceroos in their third round qualifying opener.