S. Korea fall to Saudi Arabia in football for 1st time in 21 years

AL RAYYAN, Qatar — South Korea fell to Saudi Arabia 3-2 in their men’s football friendly match in Qatar on Friday, their first loss to the Middle Eastern foe in 21 years.

Saudi Arabia, world No. 55, struck first late in the first half before scoring twice in a three-minute span in the second half for the victory at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan, just west of the Qatari capital of Doha. Oh Hyeon-gyu and Lee Jae-sung scored for 32nd-ranked South Korea, whose undefeated streak against Saudi Arabia was snapped at six.

South Korea’s previous loss to Saudi Arabia had come on Aug. 17, 2005.

This was South Korea’s fifth match under their temporary head coach Robert Moreno. The Taegeuk Warriors now have two wins, one draw and two losses on the Spanish tactician’s watch.

South Korea will next play Qatar at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha at 5 p.m. Tuesday (11 p.m. Tuesday in South Korean time).

This was South Korea’s first match since their 2-0 win over Uzbekistan on Oct. 6. In the immediate aftermath of that victory, a trio of 30-year-old veterans, Hwang In-beom, Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Min-jae, threatened to retire from international play in apparent discontent with the team’s leadership group, including longtime captain Son Heung-min and his fellow 34-year-old Lee Jae-sung.

The principal figures of the controversy issued a joint statement Thursday, claiming they had put their differences behind them and they were now ready to move forward. And all but Lee were in the starting lineup Friday.

They showed some flashes of chemistry in the first half, with Hwang Hee-chan setting up Son with a through ball into the box in the 20th minute, as Son’s left-footed effort rolled just wide of the right post.

Some eight minutes later, Marwan Al-Sahafi forced South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu to make a tough save on a hard shot from just outside the box.

Lee Kang-in nearly put South Korea on the board in the 45th minute when his rigth-footed attempt was barely kept out by the lunging goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais.

Then Saudi Arabia broke the ice early in stoppage time.

Abdullah Al-Hamdan sprung Al-Sahafi into the right side of the box with a through ball and Kim Seung-gyu slipped and lost his balance as he charged out of the net to challenge the Saudi Arabian winger. Al-Sahafi capitalized on that opening and slotted the ball into the far corner for a 1-0 lead.

South Korea equalized less than two minutes after the restart, as forward Oh Hyeon-gyu volleyed home a cross by Seol Young-woo.

South Korea failed to build on that momentum, however, with Saudi Arabia going ahead again in the 56th minute. Saud Abdulhamid dribbled his way into the dangerous area and found Mohamed Kanno for a right-footed shot that went in off the right goal post for a 2-1 Saudi Arabia lead.

Saudi Arabia doubled their lead only three minutes later, when Abdulelah Al-Amri headed home a corner taken by Nasser Al-Dawsari.

Son was nearly gifted a goal when Al-Owais’s pass attempt landed on his feet inside the box in the 66th minute, but the South Korean skipper airmailed his shot.

In search of some spark, Moreno made four substitutions moments later. And one of the subs, Lee Jae-sung, brought South Korea within a goal in the 68th minute by converting a feed from Hwang Hee-chan in the goalmouth.

Lee Kang-in was denied by Al-Owais for the second time in the 79th minute, unable to take advantage of some nifty passes that found him wide open inside the box.

South Korea made a hard push for an equalizer but Saudi Arabia stood their ground to hang on for the narrow victory.

The three goals were the most South Korea allowed against Saudi Arabia since losing 5-4 in an Olympic qualifying match on April 24, 1984.