Beaten Saudi Arabia sent crashing from Asian Cup

Saudi Arabia’s mission for a fourth Asian Cup title, and first since 1996, is ended after they drooping to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Jordan in Doha on Thursday. A slip-up from goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah preserved Saudi Arabia’s chance, as the kingdom slumped to their second consecutive defeat following their surprise 2-1 loss to Syria on Sunday.
Last weekend’s overcome saw the instant discharge of Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro, but his replacement Nasser Al Johar failed to get the victory the Saudi’s desired to maintain their tournament alive, despite making four changes to his side.
The only goal of the game came three minutes before half-time against the run of play. It seemed no risk when Baha Abdelrahman floated in a cross from the right hand side, but Abdullah totally miscalculated the flight of the ball and could only watch on in horror as it looped into the net.
Regardless of the upset of their exit, Al Johar was philosophical about the defeat, he told reporters, “We played very well and we created opportunities to score, especially in the second half, but we were not lucky and this is football. Maybe we’ll do better in the future,” he added.
The result means Saudi Arabia become the first team to bow out of the competition and puts Jordan level on points with Japan at the top of the group.