JEDDAH: Roberto Mancini’s Saudi Arabia were held to a surprise 1-1 draw at home to Indonesia in their Asia’s third round of World Cup qualifying Group ‘C’ opener on Thursday.

Indonesia, a team ranked 77 spots below the Saudis, took the lead when Ragnar Oratmangoen deflected the ball past goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais in the 19th minute.

Musab Al-Juwayr’s own deflected strike in first-half stoppage time then levelled matters.

Salem Al-Dawsari squandered a golden opportunity to put the Saudis ahead 12 minutes from time when his penalty was saved by Indonesia’s debutant goalkeeper Maarten Paes.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan edged North Korea 1-0 in Tashkent in the opening game in Group ‘A’.

Also in Group ‘B’, Aymen Huss­ein’s header was enough to earn Iraq a 1-0 victory at home against Oman in Basra.

Asian Cup runners-up Jordan saw victory snatched from their grasp in injury-time as Kuwait earned a 1-1 draw at Amman International Stadium in the other game in the group.Elsewhere, Asian champions Qatar let slip a 1-0 lead at home to the UAE to lose 3-1 in Group ‘A’.

Ibrahim Al-Hassan had put the hosts in front seven minutes before half-time at Al Rayyan Stadium, but Paulo Bento’s side rallied late in the second half through goals from Harib Abdalla, Khaled Al-Dhanhani and substitute Ali Saleh.

In Group A’s other match, perennial World Cup qualifiers Iran defeated Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in Fulad­shahr, with Inter Milan striker Mehdi Taremi getting the game’s only goal just after the half-hour.

The top two from each of the three Asian groups will be guaranteed a place at the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The third qualifying round wraps up in June.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2024