Saudi Arabia World Cup bound after draw with Iraq

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia qualified for the 2026 World Cup Tuesday with a 0-0 draw against Iraq in Jeddah. The hard-fought point was enough to give the Green Falcons top spot in Group B and a seventh appearance on the global stage.

While there was celebration with the majority of the 60,000 or so fans in Jeddah, it was far from an easy watch in what was a tense and attritional game. It reflected much of the qualification campaign, but few cared at the final whistle when coach Herve Renard, players and officials celebrated on the pitch and fans in the stands. It is a case of job done and a summer of football in North America to look forward to.

Saudi Arabia made most of the running in the first half and throughout the game, pinning Iraq back, creating clear chances proved to be difficult. 

One of the better ones came after 14 minutes. Musab Juwayr’s long ball over the top freed Saleh Abu Al-Shamat down the right and the 23-year-old’s shot was just a little high. Soon after, Salem Al-Dawsari let fly from outside the area without troubling Jalal Hassan in goal.

The closest that Iraq came was when Ibrahim Bayesh had a shot from close range blocked.

Seven minutes before the break, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat danced through the defence, bursting into the area and with just the goalkeeper to beat at the near post, elected to square the ball, allowing the defence to clear.

The second half continued in a similar pattern with Saudi Arabia pushing and probing. Ten minutes in, Abu Al-Shamat forced a flying save from Hassan with a shot from outside the area. More shots went high and wide and there was always a worry that Iraq, who were still not really threatening, would, sooner or later, get that one chance. 

With 14 minutes remaining,