Daejeon: Abdulelah Al Amri’s second half goal helped Saudi Arabia claim a 1-1 draw with the USA on Saturday and a ticket through to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Round of 16 thanks to a third-place finish in Group F.
While the Americans were guaranteed qualification prior to kick-off, Saudi Arabia needed at least a point to progress, and it was they who were under the most pressure during the game’s early stages.
Breakout starlet Josh Sargent had already fired wide by the time Brooks Lennon had opened the scoring. Fine work by Luca de la Torre brought a save from Amin Al Bukhari but, having spilled the shot, Lennon was on hand to tap in.
However, a major bump in the road arrived on the stroke of half-time, as Cameron Carter-Vickers received his second yellow card to hand Saudi Arabia a degree of hope.
Having tried to hit their opponents on the counter throughout the first half, Saudi Arabia moved on to the front foot, first forcing Jonathan Klinsmann into a smart save before six minutes later finding the key breakthrough. Al Amri was the hero, rising highest to turn in a corner and see Saudi Arabia equal their best previous finish.
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Source: the-afc.com