AFC Asian Cup - Saudi Arabia 4 North Korea 0 - Match Report
Saudi brush aside North Korea to start Asian Cup campaign with a 4-0 win
Mitch Freeley
Saudi Arabia beat 10-man North Korea 4-0 as Juan Antonio Pizzi's side made a superb start in Group E of the Asian Cup on Tuesday.
Pizzi's men are among the favourites for the title and were dominant against North Korea, who had Han Kwang-song sent off shortly before half-time at Rashid Stadium.
Hatan Bahbri, Mohammed Al-Fatil, Salem Al Dawsari and Fawad Al Muwallad scored the goals for the three-time winners in what could easily have been an even more comfortable triumph.
Having started on top, Saudi Arabia built a commanding first-half lead thanks to two high quality goals in nine minutes.
Bahbri opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a wonderful solo effort, cutting inside off the left wing to shimmy into space and whip an unstoppable strike across Ri Myong-guk.
And the North Korea keeper was soon beaten again, Al-Fatil leaping in the box to brilliantly flick a Hussain Almoqahwi cross beyond the helpless goalkeeper.
North Korea's task was made even harder shortly before the break when Han received a second yellow card in the space of eight minutes for a cynical foul from behind on Almoqahwi.
After Ali Hadi Albulayhi and Yaseer Alshahrani had wasted openings in a frenetic spell of chances at both ends, Green Falcons captain Al Dawsari made certain of the points for Saudi Arabia in the 70th minute with another classy finish.
And they added more gloss to the scoreline with three minutes to go, Al Muwallad smashing in after being picked out by Hamdan Al Shamrani's excellent pass.
Goals
Goal! Fahad Al-Muwallad has his goal! 4-0 to Saudi!
Goal! Al-Dawsari's drilled shot makes it 3-0!
Goal! Mohammed Al-Fatil flicks Saudi 2-0 up!
Goal! Hattan Bahebri blasts Saudi into the lead! What a strike!
Live Updates
Preamble
Saudi Arabia & North Korea have arrived! Both Teams look focus on the task at hand! Twenty minutes till kick-off!
Focused 👌 #AsianCup2019 pic.twitter.com/O21THWQNRi — #AsianCup2019 (@afcasiancup) January 8, 2019
Team news! Former Levante loanee Fahad Al-Muwallad stars upfront for Saudi! As for North Korea keep an eye out for Pak Kwang-ryong, the attacker is one of the few North Koreans to play outside of his country turning out for Swiss side St Polten.
📝 Starting XIs for both teams: 🇸🇦 @SaudiNT_EN 🆚 DPR Korea 🇰🇵
We are almost one hour away from the #AsianCup2019's group E opener! pic.twitter.com/eV9361vS1H — #AsianCup2019 (@afcasiancup) January 8, 2019
Smiles all round from Saudi boss Pizzi! Can the Green Falcons open up their Asian Cup campaign with a win?
The boss is in high spirits. 🇸🇦💪 pic.twitter.com/qlbLt0PvS1 — Saudi National Team (@SaudiNT_EN) January 8, 2019
Good evening! Welcome to the Live Updates of Saudi Arabia Vs North Korea. After their heroics at the World Cup, can Saudi go all the way and lift the Asian Cup in the UAE? As ever, join me for all the latest updates of the game from the Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai!