In a tense confrontation, Saudi Arabia scored a decisive victory over the Chinese national team with a score of 2:1, demonstrating excellent skills in the second round of the qualifying tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The main character of the meeting was defender Hassan Kadish, who showed outstanding leadership qualities at critical moments of the game.
Kadish was able to regain his balance at first in the 39th minute, sending the ball into the opponents’ goal with his head after executing a corner kick. Then, in the last seconds of the match, he scored the second, decisive goal, doubling his team’s chances of success. This victory was especially significant, given that Saudi Arabia played in the minority for most of the match; Mohamed Kno was sent off in the 19th minute for a foul of the last hope.
The start of qualifying for Saudi Arabia was not very stable — in the first round they drew with Indonesia (1-1) and missed the opportunity to snatch victory after an unsuccessful penalty by Salem Al-Dosari. Now, with four points on their account, the team can seriously count on a successful continuation of the tournament, although powerful rivals await them ahead — Japan, Australia and Bahrain, which has already achieved victory over the Australians.
The Chinese national team, on the contrary, found itself in a difficult situation, remaining without points after a crushing defeat against Japan (0:7) and a recent loss to Saudi Arabia. In this game, the Chinese could not avoid an autogall when Ali Lagami made a mistake and sent the ball into his own goal in the 14th minute.
Despite the difficulties, the Chinese team remained determined to win, although they could not resist the onslaught of the opponent. They had chances to change the course of the meeting, but the reliable play of Saudi goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Owais provided the team with a sure advantage in defense.
As a result, when it seemed that the match would end in a draw, Kadish proved himself again, winning the fight in the air on the corner and scoring the decisive goal. Now Saudi Arabia returns home with a victory, which gives the team confidence before the next games in the qualifying tournament.
In the next round, Saudi Arabia will face Japan, as well as Australia and Bahrain. Each of these games will have a significant impact on the team’s chances of reaching the World Cup finals. Football fans are looking forward to bright and intense matches that promise a lot of impressions and emotions.
