Sports journalist Hamid Al -Qarni criticized the performance of the Saudi national team in his match against Japan, which ended in a negative tie in the eighth round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Al -Qarni indicated, through a account on the “X” platform, that Al -Akhdar has been in the midfield since the departure of the duo Salman Al -Faraj and Abdullah Atif, stressing that the team did not find alternatives to control the match and deprive Japan of acquisition.
Al -Qarni said: “Nasser Al -Dossary could have played 60% of the role of Salman Al -Faraj, and he should have been involved with Ayman Yahya at the beginning of the second half, while allowing Musab Al -Juwair to move forward.”
A clear Japanese superiority in the first half
The Japanese team fully controlled the first half, with a rate of 77% compared to only 23% for Saudi Arabia, and it also hit 6 times on the goal compared to only one green shot.
As for the passes, Japan players have passed 359 passes for only 77 passes for the Saudi national team, which reflects the big gap in controlling the match.
Saudi Arabia is in a difficult position to qualify
With this tie, Al -Akhdar is third in the third group with 10 points, behind Japan, the top of 20 points and the runner -up Australia with 13 points, which makes it an urgent need to win the remaining two games against Bahrain and Australia to ensure direct qualification.
