Nekounam Saves Iran in Saudi Arabia
TEHRAN - A late header from Javad Nekounam earned Iran a 1-1 draw in Saudi Arabia on Saturday in the opening night of the final round of qualification for the 2010 World Cup.
TEHRAN - A late header from Javad Nekounam earned Iran a 1-1 draw in Saudi Arabia on Saturday in the opening night of the final round of qualification for the 2010 World Cup.
Twenty-nine minutes into the game, poor defending by Iran allowed Saudi's Saad al-Harthi in the box, who then found himself one-on-one with Iranian goalkeeper Mahdi Rahmati. Al-Harthi accordingly scored with ease. But Saudi Arabia failed to convert three other opportunities. One was repelled by Iran goalkeeper Rahmati and twice shots flew wide. Following the opener, Iranian players struggled to put even 3-4 successful passes together. Every attack however broke down after a few seconds. In the last minutes of the first half, the game slowed down considerably. Saudi Arabia players seemed happy with the result, and Iranian players waited for the half time break. Whatever Iran's coach Ali Daei said during the break, it worked as the Iranian side was much improved in the second half. Iran finally broke Saudi control when Nekounam scored with nine minutes left with a header past goalkeeper Mansour al-Naqi. King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh was packed with thousands of Saudis, many of them dressed in green, the color of the national flag. To encourage Saudis to attend the match, the entrance fee was waived by the General Presidency for Youth Welfare, the federation that oversees sports. In a reflection of that Saudi fans enjoy off-court theatrics better than on-court heroics, they booed when the Iranian national anthem was played. In Group B, the Saudis and Iranians occupy second and third place respectively. In another match in Group B on Saturday, the United Arab Emirates took on North Korea in the 2010 World Cup Asian qualifiers at the Mohamed Bin Zayid stadium in Abu Dhabi. In the 11th minute, UAE captain Abdulraheem Jumaa picked up a poor clearance from the North Korean defense and ran into the penalty area with just the rival goalkeeper Ri Myong Guk to beat. But under pressure from the keeper Jumaa pulled the shot wide of the post. The UAE wasted numerous chances in the first half and they paid for it when the visitors took a shock lead through an own goal in the 72nd minute. Choe Kum Chol was put clean through with a fine pass into the area and the striker's shot deflected off defender Basheer Saeed, who was inside the six-yard box, and found the back of the net. North Korea doubled the lead in the 80th minute. Substitute striker An Chol Hyok took his time and showed calm nerves as he fired in a low shot from outside the area to beat goalkeeper Obaid Altawla at his near post. North Korea hung onto the one-goal margin and their two-one win to kick-start their World Cup qualifying campaign in style.
