time champion Saudi Arabia was left wondering where it all went wrong Friday after it was unceremoniously dumped out of the Asian Cup, becoming the first team to exit the tournament. From the sacking of coach Jose Peseiro after the first match to a goalkeeping howler that gifted Jordan the game Thursday and star striker Yasser Al-Qahtani's injury, nothing has gone right for the regional giants. The opening 2-1 loss to outsider Syria followed by the 1-0 defeat to surprise-package Jordan leaves Saudi Arabia bottom of Group B with no points and out of the championships with one more game to go, against Japan Monday. It is only the second time in the history of the tournament that they have not made it to the knockout stages. Nasser Al-Johar, who was given the unenviable task of leading the team after Peseiro's abrupt dismissal, refused to blame goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah, who totally misjudged Baha Abdelrahman's cross to give Jordan victory. Saudi fans booed the team off the pitch at the Al-Rayyan Stadium. Players had rallied round the disconsolate Waleed at the final whistle. “He may have made a mistake but these things happen in world football,” said Al Johar, who was similarly brought in mid-tournament in 2000, inspiring the Saudis to the final, where they lost to Japan. But there would be no repeat this time. Al-Johar was not so diplomatic when asked if Peseiro's chopping and changing of players and formations in the build-up to Doha had been the reason for Saudi Arabia's catastrophic performances. “That might be the reason,” the veteran said. “In recent years there was no fixed formation and there were many changes in the personnel of the team.” Al-Johar made four changes in the first game in the post-Peseiro era, including bringing in forward Naif Hazazi to partner Al Qahtani. Hazazi's effervescent first-half performance with in stark contrast to his more decorated strike partner, who suffered a minor foot injury in a friendly before the tournament and looked well off the pace in both games. “Jordan was lucky as the goal that we conceded went in by luck because the ball was meant to be a cross,” said Al-Johar, whose team had most of the possession in the game but created few clear-cut chances. “If we were bad, we could have conceded two or three goals but we were the better side in the game. “I said previously that I don't have a magic wand to change everything.” Midfielder Mohammed Al-Shalhoub issued an apology to fans on behalf of the team, most of whom refused to talk to reporters as they trudged out of the stadium. “I am very sorry to all our fans for the result,” he said. “We played very well and we controlled the ball better than Jordan in the game. But football is about scoring goals and although we had chances, we were unable to manage that. “It was very1 disappointing to lose this game but this is football. Now we just have to look to the next challenge and hopefully we can do better.” – Agence France
