Tuesday 19 / November / 2024
Muscat: After enduring a brutal 5-0 defeat at the at the hands of Russia, the 'Green Falcons' of Saudi Arabia will face Uruguay's fearsome strike force.
Tonight at 7:00 PM, both teams will meet in Rostov as Luis Suarez and co. aim to reach the knock-out stages of the World Cup for the third time in a row.
Uruguay, with the talents of Suarez and PSG striker Edinson Cavani, are widely expected to clobber the Saudis.
Nevertheless, the South Americans are guarding against complacency. Asked by a reporter whether beating the Saudis would essentially guarantee passing the group stage, defender Jose Gimenez pushed back.
“Easy, easy. We need to keep a cool head. We know that any game here is very hard, and we need to think of it that way. I think that if Uruguay do things right we have a lot of chances of passing,” said Gimenez, who scored the 89th-minute header against Egypt.
Saudi Arabia seem unlikely to emulate the surprisingly strong performances of underdogs Mexico and Switzerland, and the players themselves seem to be preparing the ground for another defeat.
“There is no doubt that facing the Uruguayan team is difficult and that it is known for its international stars, but we are determined to improve our image from the previous match and the joy of the Saudi fans,” said Saudi Arabia midfielder Taisir Al-Jassim.
Indeed, for many, the days of Saeed Al Owairan appear long gone.
Those looking to see if Suarez will score or if the Saudis will prove more resilient will have to wait until another Arab team takes the pitch.
Morocco, having endured an agonising defeat at the hands of Iran, will be looking to bounce back. But that task could not have come against a more difficult opponent, with red-hot Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese teammates due to face in Moscow at 4:00 PM.
The Real Madrid star will be keen to cement his dominance in this year's event with another showpiece performance like the hat-trick he scored to deny Spain last week. History will however be on the 'Atlas Lions' of Morocco's side. Their most famous World Cup result happened in the only previous meeting between both teams: a legendary 3-1 victory in Guadalajara to help them
finish top of their group in 1986.
For Morocco to go through this time, they will need to defeat Portugal and hope Iran lose in the last match of the evening.
The Iranians currently top a highly impressive group featuring Spain and Portugal, and could very well advance to the next round with victory against the Spanish in Kazan.
While anything is possible in the beautiful game, beating the 2010 champions may be a tall order for 'Team Melli', who will face the full brunt of a Spanish offence that has rarely been denied since the 2008 European Championships.
With midfield maestros Andres Iniesta, Isco, and Nacho eager to return to winning ways after 3-3 draw against their Iberian rivals, fans tuning in at 10:00 PM can anticipate a feast of football that promises to entertain them from beginning to end.
— With inputs from Reuters.
