Bahrain kept their World Cup hopes alive holding Saudi Arabia to a goalless draw in the first-leg of the Asian Zone World Cup qualifying play-off clash on Saturday.
The Gulf states will now clash on Wednesday in the second-leg in Riyadh with the winner taking on Oceania champions New Zealand for a place in next year’s finals.
Saudi Arabia were lucky to finish on level terms after having been under pressure for most of the second-half.
Bahrain should have sealed the match by at least a three-goal margin but lack of firepower when it mattered most undid all their good work.
On the other hand, the Saudis enjoyed better possession but missed key striker Naif Hazazi, who is out for close to six months through injury.
Striker Yasser al-Qahtani had the team’s best chance midway through the first-half but his move down the center was firmly halted.
Bahrain began on a positive note with the tall Sayed Mohammed Adnan striking the near post with a trademark shot.
Ahmed Hussain kept up the pressure, beating defenders Abdulla Shuhail and Osama Hawsawi in the penalty area but his shot lacked pace and direction.
Adnan was back in the thick of action with a powerful long ranger which was well tipped over by goalkeeper Ali Waleed.
The Bahrainis kept pressing and pushing forward but continued to run out of steam when it came to making that vital final move.
The same pattern continued in the second-half with Bahrain proving more dangerous and determined while the Saudis seemed content to play within themselves and not concede anything.
Bahrain came closest to scoring in the 55th minute when the hardworking Salman Isa made a clever move down the left and moved into the penalty area with a cunning change of pace.
But Latif Ismaeel failed to connect his centrer with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Bahrain continued to threaten and in injury time came agonizingly close to making the breakthrough.
But this time substitute Jaycee John’s attempt struck goalkeeper Waleed’s leg and went wide of the far post.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
RSS