{"id":3135,"date":"2022-11-26T00:05:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-25T13:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=3135"},"modified":"2026-09-25T10:52:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T01:22:43","slug":"match-preview-poland-vs-saudi-arabia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/match-preview-poland-vs-saudi-arabia\/","title":{"rendered":"Match Preview: Poland vs Saudi Arabia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Asian Game’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is proudly sponsored by SMC.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Wild celebrations, viral half-time speeches, a national holiday; few will have predicted the outpouring of emotion that greeted Saudi Arabia\u2019s victory over Argentina on Tuesday.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yet, one of those people who did may well have been Monsieur Herve Renard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s difficult to imagine how Saudi Arabia would have performed against Argentina on Tuesday if it wasn\u2019t for their French coach\u2019s tactical setup that nullified, frustrated and then pounced on the South American champions, masterminding one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of previous shocks, however, this one was thoroughly deserved. There\u2019s no doubt that Saudi Arabia rode their luck in the first half; beneficiaries of a number of the often-derided VAR offside calls, yet as a team the unity in approach was what carried them through to the second period, where they started to execute their game plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tenacity of Abdullah Al-Malki, creativeness of Nawaf Al-Abed and Mohammed Kanno, the tireless running of makeshift right winger Firas Al-Buraikan, and not to mention the clinical finishing from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari. This wasn\u2019t merely a case of hanging on by their fingernails and hitting on the counter, this was built on an accomplished attacking display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real question now is how they react.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expectations were on the floor ahead of the clash with Argentina, with real fears that this side could implode against such high-quality opposition. Yet, not even a week has passed and Saudi Arabia have become every neutral\u2019s second favourite team heading into match day two; a stark contrast to the unknown and widely written off entity they were presented as prior to the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heading into Poland then, the assumption was that this was where Saudi\u2019s tournament would begin to get competitive. Now, however, they sit top of the group, with a two-point cushion over their opponents, following Poland\u2019s opening day draw with Mexico. It\u2019s maybe a tad optimistic to suggest the Green Falcons head into this one as favourites, however they are the one in possession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I wish you a speed recovery, I know you will come back stronger \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffc\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\udc9a @iYasser12<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/0QLrvx0CRY<\/a><\/p>— Herv\u00e9 Renard (@Herve_Renard_HR) November 23, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>