Saudis storm to semi-final

Wednesday, 11 July 2012 12:28

Amman: AFC U-19 Championship 2012 contenders Saudi Arabia stormed to the semi-final of the Arab U-20 Championship after downing Kuwait 4-1 in their last Group A match in Jordanian capital Amman on Tuesday. Group leaders above Sudan as well as two fellow U-19 continental contenders Kuwait and Jordan, the unbeaten Saudis now await the best runners-up from all three groups for the semi-final clash on July 15. Saudi Arabia opened the scoring as early as the 3rd minute thanks to Abdulfatah Al-Asli but Mohammad Al-Bathali equalised with a penalty after 25 minutes. Majid Al-Najrani then took the Saudis one up again with a 55th minute strike and the match might have just finished at 2-1 before Ammar Bilal added salt to injury by registering a brace in the 89th and 90th minutes. Saudi Arabia opened their regional campaign with a 1-1 draw with Jordan before clinching a 3-0 victory over Confederation of African Football (CAF) side Sudan. Kuwait lost 3-2 to Sudan in their first game before getting their only win in the group by beating Jordan 1-0. Head of the Kuwaiti mission Nasser Bonyan has attributed the loss to the lack of fitness of the players and the departure of Fahad Al-Hamdan during what is according to him a tough match. He has nevertheless described his team’s performance as fair amid a fierce competition, Kuwait News Agency reports. Seven AFC member associations and five member nations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) are competing in the tournament organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) on July 4-18 hosted by Jordan. Kuwait are with hosts UAE, Japan and IR Iran in Group A of the AFC U-19 Championship’s group stage to be held on November 3-8. They will open their campaign against the UAE on November 3. Saudi Arabia are in Group D with Australia, Syria, and Qatar keeping them company and will face the Syrians in their first match on November 4.