
Australians wary of Saudi 'games' ahead of crunch World Cup qualifier
HONG KONG: Australia's Connor Metcalfe has warned his teammates to avoid reacting to Saudi Arabia's gamesmanship when the nations face off in Jeddah tomorrow with automatic qualification for next year's World Cup finals on the line.
Tony Popovic's outfit go into the meeting at the King Abdullah Sports City with one foot on the plane to North America after a 1-0 win over Japan on Thursday bought the Socceroos breathing room in their quest for a place at the finals.
Despite that advantage, Metcalfe has sought to ensure the Australians do not allow their focus to slip ahead of a crucial 90 minutes that will be played out in front of more than 50,000 fans and in stifling heat.
"There's going to be a lot of diving, a lot of acting, but it's about just blocking the noise out, focusing on ourselves and doing the best we can," said the St. Pauli midfielder.
"You can't get affected by any of it, because if you get affected by any of their little games or noise or whatever it is, then it's just going to affect the game, and they're going to get that little advantage over you."
Australia hold a three point lead over Herve Renard's side and a large enough goal difference to leave the Saudis needing to win by five goals to climb into second and claim the last automatic berth from the current phase of Asian preliminaries.
Japan have already secured top spot in Group C while Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea and Jordan have taken the other berths available to Asian nations at the expanded World Cup from the third phase of qualifying.
A further two spots will be up for grabs from a fourth round of qualifiers to be played in October.
Anything other than a significant win over the Australians would see Saudi Arabia finish third in Group C and enter that next phase, where they would join the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq and Indonesia.
Also battling for a place in the fourth round are Oman and Palestine, with the pair looking to secure either third or fourth place in Group B tomorrow.
The two countries face off against each other in Amman with the Palestinians needing to win to climb above Rashid Jaber's side and keep their World Cup qualification dream alive.
Neither nation has played at the World Cup and Palestine go into the meeting having handed Kuwait a 2-0 defeat on Thursday to stay in the hunt for a spot in the United States, Canada and Mexico. -AFP
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Straits Times
44 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Drugs ban gives Rabada extra motivation for WTC final, says Bavuma
LONDON: South Africa are backing fast bowler Kagiso Rabada to bring extra motivation to the World Test Championship final against Australia after serving a one-month drugs ban. Rabada tested positive for cocaine in January, which was only revealed in April, and served a one-month ban while competing in the Indian Premier League. It has been an embarrassing episode for the 30-year-old Rabada, second in the world test bowling rankings, but his captain Temba Bavuma said he expected it would fire him up for the game at Lord's starting on Wednesday. "It's definitely a motivation. It's been a couple of weeks now that everything has unfolded," Bavuma told a press conference on Tuesday. "He had a conversation with the team and put himself on the spot for further questioning from any of the players. As far as we are concerned, that's kind of behind us, we really come here with the focus of what we need to do. "And I think he's in the best shape that he's ever been. Playing against the Australians as well, that'll be extra motivation for him. I think he's in a very good space." Rabada will lead the attack along with Marco Jansen, with Lungi Ngidi as first change after he was preferred in the team to veteran seamer Dane Paterson, who had been in contention for a place because of his experience on English wickets. "It's probably one of the tougher decisions that we've have to make. It was more from a tactical point of view; probably a little bit more pace coming from Lungi," Bavuma said. South Africa have also promoted all-rounder Wiaan Mulder up to number three in the batting order. "He's quite young, obviously, in that position. But having seen the way he's kind of grown in the last two years within the red-ball game, it's about giving him a lot more confidence, backing him, and just allowing him to do what he does best," Bavuma said. South Africa are competing in the final for the first time while Australia are defending champions. South Africa team: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (captain), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi. — REUTERS


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Cricket-Drugs ban gives Rabada extra motivation for WTC final, says Bavuma
Cricket - 2025 ICC World Test Championship Final - South Africa Press Conference - Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Britain - June 10, 2025 South Africa's Temba Bavuma during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers LONDON (Reuters) - South Africa are backing fast bowler Kagiso Rabada to bring extra motivation to the World Test Championship final against Australia after serving a one-month drugs ban. Rabada tested positive for cocaine in January, which was only revealed in April, and served a one-month ban while competing in the Indian Premier League. It has been an embarrassing episode for the 30-year-old Rabada, second in the world test bowling rankings, but his captain Temba Bavuma said he expected it would fire him up for the game at Lord's starting on Wednesday. "It's definitely a motivation. It's been a couple of weeks now that everything has unfolded," Bavuma told a press conference on Tuesday. "He had a conversation with the team and put himself on the spot for further questioning from any of the players. As far as we are concerned, that's kind of behind us, we really come here with the focus of what we need to do. "And I think he's in the best shape that he's ever been. Playing against the Australians as well, that'll be extra motivation for him. I think he's in a very good space." Rabada will lead the attack along with Marco Jansen, with Lungi Ngidi as first change after he was preferred in the team to veteran seamer Dane Paterson, who had been in contention for a place because of his experience on English wickets. "It's probably one of the tougher decisions that we've have to make. It was more from a tactical point of view; probably a little bit more pace coming from Lungi," Bavuma said. South Africa have also promoted all-rounder Wiaan Mulder up to number three in the batting order. "He's quite young, obviously, in that position. But having seen the way he's kind of grown in the last two years within the red-ball game, it's about giving him a lot more confidence, backing him, and just allowing him to do what he does best," Bavuma said. South Africa are competing in the final for the first time while Australia are defending champions. South Africa team: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (captain), Tristan Stubbs,David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, (Editing by Ed Osmond)


The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Bellamy: Wales still on track despite Belgium defeat
WALES manager Craig Bellamy said his side are still on track to qualify for the World Cup despite slipping from top spot in their group following a 4-3 defeat in Belgium on Monday. The clash in Brussels would have been marked down as Wales' toughest test in Group J and it looked like the writing was on the wall when they were three goals down inside the first half-hour. But Bellamy's side fought back to level at 3-3 and looked good for a surprise point before Kevin De Bruyne snatched a late winner for the hosts. 'To come to a top-eight team and play the way we want to play. I think the Belgian players saw it as well,' said Bellamy, who lost his first game as Wales manager after 10 matches in charge. 'We aren't going anywhere. I will have a couple of weeks now of recharging, but I'm beyond proud and really excited about the future.' Wales have seven points from four matches in their group and are at the halfway stage of their campaign. North Macedonia top the standings with eight points, but Belgium, on four points, have played only two fixtures. The group winner qualifies automatically for next year's finals in North America, while the runners-up go into a playoff competition. Wales next travel to fourth-placed Kazakhstan in September and then have a return clash with the Belgians in Cardiff in October. Sorba Thomas, who scored his first international goal for Wales on Monday, said their second-half performance showed what kind of a team they are. 'Even though we lost the game, I feel like we won it in our own heads,' he added. 'Against countries like this, you'll be punished. I can't wait to play these when we get back to Cardiff.' Wales reached the quarter-final of the 1958 World Cup and did not qualify again until the last finals in Qatar in 2022, where they finished bottom of their group.