Three key takeaways as Saudi Arabia knocked out of Asian Cup on penalties

It turned out to be a story of ‘so near, yet so far’ for Saudi Arabia in the ongoing Asian Cup in Qatar.

The Green Falcons were seconds away from sealing a place in the quarter-finals, but after conceding a late equalizer to South Korea, the team went on to lose on penalties – exiting the tournament at the last-16 stage for the second successive time.

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Abdullah Radif had given Saudi Arabia the perfect start to the second half, moments after coming on as a substitute, and just when it seemed that Roberto Mancini’s side would hold on, its resolute defense was broken in the ninth minute of second-half added time by Cho Gue-Sung.

With no further goals in extra-time, the match went to a penalty shootout, and it was South Korea that prevailed with a 4-2 scoreline to set up a quarter-finals encounter with Australia.

Here, Al Arabiya English discusses the three key takeaways from Saudi Arabia’s Asian Cup elimination.

Saudi shootout heartbreak

There are few worse ways to exit a tournament than via penalty shootouts and for those whose spot-kicks were missed, the ignominy can often be difficult to shake off. With South Korea scoring all four of its penalties, it is Saudi players Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Sami al-Najei whose names will now, unfortunately, be most associated with this defeat in the Kingdom, while in South Korea, the goalkeeping heroics of Jo Hyeon-woo will be celebrated.

The defeat marked the first time Saudi Arabia has ever lost on penalties in the Asian Cup after winning all four of its previous shootouts – against Iran (twice), as well as South Korea and the UAE in the finals of the 1988 and 1996 tournaments, respectively.

As far as the Taeguk Warriors are concerned, this shootout revenge has been 36 years in the making.

For Saudi coach Roberto Mancini, meanwhile, it was in stark contrast to his last experience with penalties in 2021, when Italy beat England at Wembley to win the European Championship.

Defeat for Saudi Arabia is emblematic of an ever-lengthening period of trophy drought. It is now 20 years since the senior side claimed a title of any significance – the 2004 Arabian Gulf Cup – and by the time the Kingdom hosts the 2027 Asian Cup, it will be 20 years since the Green Falcons even reached a continental quarter-final. With Saudi Arabia also set to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, there is some serious soul-searching and restructuring required if the team is to be more competitive in these two major tournaments on home soil in the future.

Every second counts

There is no question that South Korea’s dramatic late equalizer had been coming. Jurgen Klinsmann’s side was knocking loudly on the Saudis’ defensive door, and Mancini’s men were doing a desperate but simultaneously admirable job of keeping it closed in the face of a ridiculous number of chances. However, this Asian Cup has shown that every second counts in football, and moments after squandering a golden opportunity to level the scores, Cho Gue-Sung finally obliged to take the wind out of Saudi sails.

Late strikes have been remarkable in their regularity at this tournament, with 18 goals coming after the 90th minute in the 42 games played so far. In the last-16 stage alone, Jordan netted twice in stoppage time to down Iraq, Australia bagged its fourth against Indonesia on 91 minutes, while UAE scored a 95th-minute equalizer against Tajikistan before ultimately succumbing on penalties. Earlier, Saudi Arabia even claimed a late salvo itself in the first group game, snatching a dramatic win against Oman.

But the king of the late show in Qatar has been South Korea, with drama at the death occurring in three of its four matches so far. A 91st-minute own goal by Yazan al-Arab salvaged a 2-2 Group E draw against Jordan, and in the final group match against Malaysia, Son Heung-Min scored a 94th-minute penalty before Romel Morales equalized even later for Malaysia.

Cho’s intervention in the match against Saudi Arabia was undoubtedly the most important one yet, his close-range header in the 99th minute setting the Taeguk Warriors on their way to shootout success.

Future focused

While Mancini has come in for criticism for some of his squad and team selections, the Italian has helped integrate some exciting young talent into the Saudi Arabia national team. Indeed, against Thailand, he made 16-year-old Al-Ahli striker Talal Haji the youngest player to debut in Asian Cup history when he introduced him as a substitute.

Beyond that, 21-year-old Mohammed Radif’s missed penalty in the draw with Thailand has already been forgotten after his strike against South Korea demonstrated he is capable of scoring when the pressure is on. The Al-Shabab forward has shown plenty of glimpses of his ability in this tournament, and it would be no surprise if he was picked to lead the line in Saudi Arabia’s upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers this spring.

Radif is one of four players who won the 2022 Asian Under-23 Cup for Saudi Arabia and has since ascended to regular status on the senior side. Hassan Tambakti has been an integral part of the Green Falcons’ defense in Qatar, while Saud Abdulhamid emerged as Mancini’s first-choice right-back and striker Firas al-Buraikan started in the victory against Kyrgyzstan.

Moving forward, there must surely be a focus on integrating more of Saudi Arabia’s U-23 champions; these are players who have already won a major continental tournament and a number of them are playing regularly – and impressing – for their clubs in the Saudi Pro League, too. While Mancini has certainly made movements toward a change of guard, the pace of that transition must now be hastened.

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