It has been a long road to the World Cup for Saudi Arabia but now the team has qualified, preparation starts in earnest on Tuesday against Australia.
That is the bonus for booking a place in Qatar early. It is a feeling that fans should savour but while the mood in the stands in Jeddah may be one of celebration, for coach Herve Renard and his players the focus is now no longer on getting to the tournament but being as successful as possible once there.
This then is a valuable test even though it wasn’t what all expected. Most thought that the final Group B game in Jeddah against Australia would be a tense showdown with both teams in the running for a World Cup spot.
Instead, Saudi Arabia are already there and the visitors have had to accept third place. Now, it will be a surprise if the hosts don’t defeat the weakened and troubled Socceroos who are preparing for a play-off in June.
Thursday’s 1-1 draw with China may mean that Saudi Arabia have lost top spot behind Japan but victory would take their tally to an impressive 23 points and perhaps improve their FIFA ranking ahead of what is now the biggest event this week: Friday’s draw.
“It is important to finish the qualifiers well, especially as this game is at home in front of our own fans,” said Renard ahead of the game. “You should always do your best when representing the country and this is an important game for us.”
There are few issues for the home team. Star winger Salem Al-Dawsari has missed training with a thigh injury but could start. Young Al-Shabab Full-back Moteb Al-Harbi has an ankle knock and central defender Abdulelah Al-Amri is suspended. Other than that it should be the same, or a very similar, starting eleven to the one that played China.
It remains to be seen which striker leads the line after Saleh Al-Shehri got the goal against the Chinese.
“We currently have four strikers in the team’s squad who performed outstandingly in the qualifiers, especially Saleh Al-Shehri and Firas Al-Buraikan, and as I previously mentioned that it is very important for the players to participate with their clubs.”
Al-Shehri is the joint top scorer in the group stage with four goals, alongside the likes of Son Heung-min of South Korea and Iran’s Mehdi Taremi who play for two of Europe’s biggest clubs in Tottenham Hotspur and FC Porto respectively. A goal or two against the Socceroos could see the Al-Hilal star top the charts, even if his focus is not on personal goals.
“Facing Australia will be difficult but we want to finish the end of the qualifiers strongly,” said Al-Shehri. “We play football as a team and my being the top scorer in the qualifiers is due to the teamwork done by all the players.”
Australia, meanwhile, have problems. Coach Graham Arnold has come under criticism for the team failing to take one of the two automatic qualification spots. The Socceroos won their first three games in the group but have taken just six points from the following six games. Thursday’s 2-0 loss at home to Japan ended dreams of a straight journey to Qatar and has increased speculation that this Jeddah clash will be the last for Arnold in charge of the team.
“This is always part of the job,” Arnold said. “I understand with coaching and the trade that I’m in, this is the way it works at times. But I know I’ve given my best and I’m giving my best to help these players.”
His job has not been made any easier by withdrawals. Already Arnold is without his top players such as Aaron Mooy, Adam Taggart and Tom Rogic. Since the Japan game, Jamie Maclaren has left to get married while Mathew Leckie, Milos Degenek and Rhyan Grant will not be risked as a yellow card would rule them out of the June play-off against the third-place team from Group A, currently the UAE.
That is now the focus for Australia, which gives a bunch of fringe players a chance to impress against Saudi Arabia and put them in contention for the big play-off against UAE, Iraq or Lebanon, just over two months down the line. Uruguay-born forward Bruno Fornaroli could make his first start for his new country.
“It’s a good chance to see if Bruno — against a World Cup opponent — is ready,” said Arnold. “Bruno has brought a lot of energy to the camp, he’s such a fantastic guy and I think he showed in that little time he was on the field against Japan, he gives us something in a different way of a number nine. I’ll be keen to see how he goes.”
While Australia’s focus is now on June, for Saudi Arabia the countdown to November is about to start.