June 23, 2006
SUB-PERB
Spain’s second-string shines against Saudis

KAISERSLAUTERN—Spain coach Luis Aragones emptied his bench for Friday’s meaningless Group H finale at Fritz-Walter Stadion, and his subs stepped up to defeat Saudi Arabia 1-0. It was far from a perfect effort, however, and a second-half letdown by Spain kept the outcome in suspense until the final minutes.

Spain spent much of the game buzzing around the Saudi penalty area, although a tendency to make too many passes and sharp goalkeeping by Mabrouk Zaid kept the scoresheet clean until the 36th minute. Juanito finally ended the drought with a near-post header off a 30-yard outswinging free kick from Jose Antonio Reyes.

Spain kept the Saudi defense on the move from the opening kickoff, working the ball back and forth, often with more flair than impact. Keying off Reyes and Joaquin, the Spaniards racked up an 11-1 advantage in shots before halftime. In the 16th minute, Reyes stripped the ball from Mohammed Nour, worked a quick give-and-go with veteran Raul, then dished off to Joaquin for a shot from the top of the area, Zaid parried that attempt over the bar, and was back in action less than a minute later to stop Reyes’ point-blank attempt. IN the 30th, Joaquin quick-stepped around two defenders just outside the box to launch a rising shot that was once again poked over the bar by Zaid.

Zaid kept the match close with two more saves in the closing minutes of the half, thwarted a breakaway by Reyes in the 42nd minute and diving to poke away a Reyes left-footer in the 43rd.

It took Saudi Arabia until the 40th minute to put a shot on goal, a weak effort by Sami Al Jaber on a counterattack. Al Jaber also was called offside on two other breakaway tries before being subbed out of what was probably his last World Cup match in the 68th minute.

David Villa, who scored twice in Spain’s tournament-opening win over Ukraine, replaced Raul after halftime and was quick to have an impact. In the 50th minute, he took the ball down low before cutting it back to Antonio Lopez for a shot that slipped through Zaid’s hands and over the end line for a corner kick.

Less than a minute later, Zaid gave the Saudis a scare, going down with an apparent knee injury after picking off an on-target header from Juanito. The ‘keeper recovered quickly, however, in time to pick off a dangerous leading pass from Lopez in front of the goal in the 55th.

Saudi Arabia’s first serious scoring opportunity came on a long shot by Hussein Sulemani. Goalkeeper Santiago Canizares bobbled the ball, but there was no one there to try a follow-up.

Midway through the second half, Spain’s attack seemed to lose its focus, drawing whistles from their red-clad fans after several errant passes and lackadaisical defensive clearances. The Saudis, however, seemed too demoralized to capitalize until the 69th minute, when Sulemani found Malek Al Hawsawi on the left side of the area. Canizares saved the shot, but gave the Saudis their first corner kick of the match.

The turn of events seemed to energize Saudi Arabia, who picked up three more quick corners and gave Spain a scare when Al Hawsawi found Saad Al Harthi trying to split two defenders at the top of the box. Al Harthi went down before taking a shot, however.

The game got progressively more chippy, and – in an unusual development for this card-heavy World Cup – the Saudis lost out on the chance for a potential penalty kick equalizer when Carlos Marchena’s apparent foul on Nawat Al Tenyat inside the area went uncalled.

The Saudis’ last, best chance came in the 89th minute, when Noor took the ball low on the left side then passed back to Al Harthi in the center of the area, but Al Harthi rushed the shot and the ball sailed well high.