Al-Shehri the star as Saudis defeat Pakistan to kick off World Cup qualification campaign

RIYADH: Two goals from Saleh Al-Shehri, plus late strikes from Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Abdullah Radif, ensured Saudi Arabia’s 2026 World Cup qualification campaign got off to a winning start on Thursday with a 4-0 home win over Pakistan.

It was also Roberto Mancini’s first victory since taking over as head coach in late August.

The match in Al-Ahsa, which began in the pouring rain, was mostly one-way traffic but not exactly a vintage performance by the three-time Asian champions, who dominated possession but were never quite able to completely put the game to bed and relax until the final few minutes.

Given the new-look squad assembled by Mancini, it was perhaps no great surprise that the performance was somewhat disjointed. The Green Falcons lacked fluidity in attack and did not look completely comfortable at the back. Still, they got the job done, with Al-Shehri scoring early in each half and the remaining two goals coming in second-half injury time.

The odds heavily favored the hosts against a team ranked 136 places below them and if there were any doubts about the Saudi prospects, they were quickly eased when Al-Shehri fired his team into the lead after just six minutes. The Al-Hilal striker pounced on a loose ball and let fly with an unstoppable left-foot shot from the edge of the area.

Soon after, Mohammed Maran turned and fired just over from a similar position, though a little further out.

If the home fans expected a rush of goals to follow, Pakistan had other ideas. After 18 minutes, Abdul Arshad delivered a cross from the right that was met by Fareed Ullah, who managed to get ahead of Hassan Tambakti but headed the ball just over the bar, ending a move that had started in their own penalty area.

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