Germany is missing tons of players, can Saudi Arabia repeat their USA 94 performance and beat a tough European team
Gabemar
I think they can do it. Germany may be a strong team but I think that the Saudies can get a draw out of this one. I might sound dumb and until a few mins ago I would have said a loss for the Arabs. But I think they can pull at least 1 point from this encounter... 
mo,Vampire Lestat said:
Not if Jam'an starts
Its going to be like we are playing with 10 men vs. 12
It gets better... Have you read Saad alDossary's fiery interview? He doesn't pull any punches. Apparently both Jamaan and Ghamdi were picked despite being injured, the latter needing an operation ! They didn't participate in any of the training sessions prior to the selection
.I feel sorry for the guy. He's miles better than Mohammed alSharshou7 and Saleh alMohammedi, yet he doesn't get the credit that he deserves.
And after this interview I believe the soussa will make sure his international career is over.
I read it Ahmed, and i was amazed how open he was in it.
He was right, he was one of our best players in the qualifying rounds and his passing and build would have been crucial for such matches.
Even Mhammadi played more and was more effect then Shlhoob, yet amazingly he survived the cut. Then again, if you wear "blue", life is good for you ay? :depress:
Its not fair that our NT has to suffer because of this sh*t!!!
He was right, he was one of our best players in the qualifying rounds and his passing and build would have been crucial for such matches.
Even Mhammadi played more and was more effect then Shlhoob, yet amazingly he survived the cut. Then again, if you wear "blue", life is good for you ay? :depress:
Its not fair that our NT has to suffer because of this sh*t!!!
G
And then they leave out players like Saleh Sagri and Sheehan because they're injured.
It's so pathetic.
It's so pathetic.
Much to the dismay of so many of my friends here pulling for S Arabia..I have to go with the Germans to take three points.
:mute:
:mute:
Hmm.. I read not long ago that he injured his hand after getting a kick from Abdullah Sulleiman, what's the latest about that?Vampire Lestat said:
Not if Jam'an starts
Its going to be like we are playing with 10 men vs. 12
And anyway, I think that Al Johar would go for 4-5-1( or rather4-4-1-1) with Obeid as the lonely striker and Al Jaber supporting him from behind.
Thursday, May 30, 2002
Ballack in, Rehmer likely to be on bench
Patrick Vignal
MIYAZAKI, Japan (Reuters) - Michael Ballack should be fit to orchestrate play from midfield and defender Marko Rehmer will probably start on the bench when Germany take on Saudi Arabia in their opening World Cup match on Saturday in Sapporo.
Marko Rehmer: On the sidelines
(Allsport)
Midfielder Ballack, who plays a key part in coach Rudi Voeller's plans despite being hampered by a bruised right foot for weeks, said that he was expecting to play.
Rehmer, who has hardly played since last March because of various injuries, hurt a thigh muscle when Germany crushed a regional junior side 10-0 in their final warm-up game on Sunday.
'He will be in the squad but he will probably not start the match,' assistant Germany coach Michael Skibbe said.
Voeller has remained secretive about his line-up, saying only that his captain Oliver Kahn would be in goal.
After both his main central defenders, Jens Nowotny and Christian Woerns, were forced to pull out of the tournament starting on Friday, Voeller decided to drop his usual back-four and opt for a 3-5-2 formation.
Carsten Ramelow should marshal the rearguard, with Christoph Metzelder coming in for Rehmer on the right and Thomas Linke on the left.
There will be five men in midfield as Germany try to dictate the pace and stamp their authority on the game.
Torsten Frings and Christian Ziege should be the wingers as the Germans try to make the most of their physical advantage with plenty of high balls. Both will pull back in defence when needed.
DEFENSIVE ROLE
Dietmar Hamann will take a defensive role in the centre of midfield, with Bernd Schneider and Ballack sharing the playmaking duties.
Voeller has strongly hinted that Miroslav Klose, who has scored eight goals including two hat-tricks in 12 outings for Germany, will start up front.
Carsten Jancker thinks he should partner Klose despite the fact that he did not score a Bundesliga goal for Bayern Munich last season.
'The few times we played together it worked out really well,' the towering Jancker said on Thursday. 'It looks like I will play on Saturday.'
The combination of the two against Saudi Arabia is logical as both have a penchant for headed goals, but the smaller, more technical Oliver Neuville will surely get a chance to prove his worth in Germany's next matches.
The triple world champions, who also face Ireland and Cameroon in group E, have a simple game plan for their first match.
'We must put a lot of pressure from midfield while trying to get as many set pieces and corners as we can,' Voeller said.
'Saudi Arabia have gifted players but I think we have an advantage when it comes to physical challenges and high balls.'
Probable team: 1-Oliver Kahn; 21-Christoph Metzelder, 5-Carsten Ramelow, 2-Thomas Linke; 22-Torsten Frings, 8-Dietmar Hamann, 19-Bernd Schneider, 13- Michael Ballack, 6-Christian Ziege; 11-Miroslav Klose, 9-Carsten Jancker.
soccernet
Ballack in, Rehmer likely to be on bench
Patrick Vignal
MIYAZAKI, Japan (Reuters) - Michael Ballack should be fit to orchestrate play from midfield and defender Marko Rehmer will probably start on the bench when Germany take on Saudi Arabia in their opening World Cup match on Saturday in Sapporo.
Marko Rehmer: On the sidelines
(Allsport)
Midfielder Ballack, who plays a key part in coach Rudi Voeller's plans despite being hampered by a bruised right foot for weeks, said that he was expecting to play.
Rehmer, who has hardly played since last March because of various injuries, hurt a thigh muscle when Germany crushed a regional junior side 10-0 in their final warm-up game on Sunday.
'He will be in the squad but he will probably not start the match,' assistant Germany coach Michael Skibbe said.
Voeller has remained secretive about his line-up, saying only that his captain Oliver Kahn would be in goal.
After both his main central defenders, Jens Nowotny and Christian Woerns, were forced to pull out of the tournament starting on Friday, Voeller decided to drop his usual back-four and opt for a 3-5-2 formation.
Carsten Ramelow should marshal the rearguard, with Christoph Metzelder coming in for Rehmer on the right and Thomas Linke on the left.
There will be five men in midfield as Germany try to dictate the pace and stamp their authority on the game.
Torsten Frings and Christian Ziege should be the wingers as the Germans try to make the most of their physical advantage with plenty of high balls. Both will pull back in defence when needed.
DEFENSIVE ROLE
Dietmar Hamann will take a defensive role in the centre of midfield, with Bernd Schneider and Ballack sharing the playmaking duties.
Voeller has strongly hinted that Miroslav Klose, who has scored eight goals including two hat-tricks in 12 outings for Germany, will start up front.
Carsten Jancker thinks he should partner Klose despite the fact that he did not score a Bundesliga goal for Bayern Munich last season.
'The few times we played together it worked out really well,' the towering Jancker said on Thursday. 'It looks like I will play on Saturday.'
The combination of the two against Saudi Arabia is logical as both have a penchant for headed goals, but the smaller, more technical Oliver Neuville will surely get a chance to prove his worth in Germany's next matches.
The triple world champions, who also face Ireland and Cameroon in group E, have a simple game plan for their first match.
'We must put a lot of pressure from midfield while trying to get as many set pieces and corners as we can,' Voeller said.
'Saudi Arabia have gifted players but I think we have an advantage when it comes to physical challenges and high balls.'
Probable team: 1-Oliver Kahn; 21-Christoph Metzelder, 5-Carsten Ramelow, 2-Thomas Linke; 22-Torsten Frings, 8-Dietmar Hamann, 19-Bernd Schneider, 13- Michael Ballack, 6-Christian Ziege; 11-Miroslav Klose, 9-Carsten Jancker.
soccernet
Well I'm gonna go for a draw...
I know there are so many bad decisions being made in the Saudi camp (and we haven't even touched the pitch yet :depress: ).. But Germany have had loads of set backs.. Ballack has insisted he'll play even if he is injured.. and that was the worst news ever to me (especially after what he did to Liverpool ).. But they are missing Scholl, Diesler and Nowotny.. not to mention Hienriech and I think Ricken too!!.. And even with those lads available.. Germany are simply not the football force of 8 years ago or so..
Guys.. if we have Al Jamaan.. they have Jancker.. somewhat same situation.. being called up and starting for UNKNOWN reasons.. Janker was actually able to score ZERO goals in the Bundesliga this year!! and he's starting!!
I know there are so many bad decisions being made in the Saudi camp (and we haven't even touched the pitch yet :depress: ).. But Germany have had loads of set backs.. Ballack has insisted he'll play even if he is injured.. and that was the worst news ever to me
(especially after what he did to Liverpool ).. But they are missing Scholl, Diesler and Nowotny.. not to mention Hienriech and I think Ricken too!!.. And even with those lads available.. Germany are simply not the football force of 8 years ago or so..Guys.. if we have Al Jamaan.. they have Jancker.. somewhat same situation.. being called up and starting for UNKNOWN reasons.. Janker was actually able to score ZERO goals in the Bundesliga this year!! and he's starting!!
World Cup Preview: Germany v Saudi Arabia
Germany - Saudi Arabia | News Archive
Germany's main man...Ballack holds off Scholes (Reuters)
05/31/2002. BACKGROUND
The expectations on Germany going into the mother of all sports events are about as low as they have been for a World Cup in recent memory due to a combination of their humbling experiences at France 98 and Euro 2000 coupled with the pre-tournament injury bug that so severely compromised the 'Nationalmannschaft'.
A heavy handful of the country's top stars were forced to pull-out in the buildup to the big show, including Jens Nowotny, Sebastian Deisler, Christian Woerns, Joerg Heinrich and Mehmet Scholl, the latter of whom stunned the nation by electing to use this summer to properly recuperate from an injury bedeviled season.
Although Germany are surely not going to present themselves as the infallible 'machine' that struck fear into the hearts of their every opponent in the past, Rudi Voeller still has plenty of top-talent at his disposal. Michael Ballack has blossomed into one of Europe's finest midfielders, Didi Hamann is as good as they come at disrupting the opposition's flow, Miroslav Klose is a world-class striker in the making and of course there is the immovable object between the pipes that is Oliver Kahn. Suffice to say, the three-time World Champs could very well end up being the tournament's darkhorse.
Saudi Arabia are back for their third World Cup in succession, and will be hoping to emulate the unexpected success of their debut appearance, which saw them overcome all odds by qualifying for the second round. Asia's most successful footballing nation are probably best known for the stories that speak of a mansion and Mercedes promised to each of their players that scores a goal in the finals, but make no mistake ?the Saudis can play.
Nasser Al Johar's 'Sons of the Desert' will be hoping to prove that they can compliment their sublime dribbling skills with hard-nosed defending against a German side that will be looking to out-muscle and out-jump them at every occasion. Thus, in order to counteract their opponent's ample aerial threat, Saudi Arabia are expected to lineup in a wing-play-debilitating 4-5-1 formation, proving that they have no intention of succumbing to their tactical naivet?of the past.
Saudi striker Al Hassan Al Yami, who has scored five times in 18 internationals, said in the buildup to Saturday's opener: "Our preparation for the first match has been excellent and we have no fear to face this big team (Germany) because we already played against big teams in our warm-up matches like Brazil, Denmark, Uruguay and Senegal. We got some good results notably beating Uruguay and Senegal 3-2 and I hope we will do the same with Germany because we aim to go through to the second round as we did in the USA in 1994.
LATEST TEAM NEWS
Rudi Voeller can breath a sigh of relief upon learning that his main-man Michael Ballack, as well as Miroslav Klose and Oliver Bierhoff have all managed to shake off their respective injuries in time for the Saudi showdown. The biggest fear for Voeller revolved around the long-standing foot injury of Ballack but the Bayern-bound playmaker insists that he feels fine and that he will play with the aid of painkillers if necessary. There is considerably less cause for optimism surrounding Marko Rehmer, who has been ruled out for Germany's first match due to yet another bout with muscular problems. Borussia Dortmund defensive starlet Christoph Metzelder will take Rehmer's place in the make-shift three-man backline that will also contain Ramelow and Linke. Frings, Hamann and Ziege will form an imposing wall behind the more creative Schneider and Ballack, while Jancker and Klose are expected to operate as the front-two.
As touched upon before, Saudi Arabia are likely to sacrifice a forward in order to form a five-man midfield, meaning that Al Hassan Al-Yami will operate as the lone-striker, while star attacker Al Jaber will be required to generate offence from a deeper position than usual. The Saudi Arabians have no injuries or suspensions to speak of.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Germany (3-5-2): Kahn ?Linke, Ramelow, Metzelder ?Frings, Hamann, Schneider, Ballack, Ziege ?Jancker, Klose.
Saudi (4-5-1): Al Daeyae ?Sulimani, Tukar, Zubromawi, Al Harthi ?Noor, K. Al Dosari, A. Al Dossary, Al Jaber, Al Temyat ?Al Yami.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Michael Ballack: The massively talented 25-year-old will undoubtedly be the man to watch for Germany, as he is very much the creative hub of the side. Formerly considered somewhat of a big-game-bottler, Ballack established himself as the go-to-man during Bayer Leverkusen's treble-chase and it will be fascinating to see whether his shoulders have broadened enough over they year to support the weight of an entire country.
Al Jaber: Saudi Arabia's 30-year-old skipper will be hoping to make it three-for-three on Saturday, by bagging his third goal at his third World Cup. Saudi's all-time leading scorer is a firm-favourite at leading Saudi club Al-Hilal, for whom he has played for 15 years - though he spent time on loan in 2000 with England's Wolverhampton Wanderers before returning home after a sojourn subdued by injuries.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
Germany and Saudi Arabia's only previous encounter was pre-WC 98 friendly international, which the Germans easily won 3-0.
soccerage
Germany - Saudi Arabia | News Archive
Germany's main man...Ballack holds off Scholes (Reuters)
05/31/2002. BACKGROUND
The expectations on Germany going into the mother of all sports events are about as low as they have been for a World Cup in recent memory due to a combination of their humbling experiences at France 98 and Euro 2000 coupled with the pre-tournament injury bug that so severely compromised the 'Nationalmannschaft'.
A heavy handful of the country's top stars were forced to pull-out in the buildup to the big show, including Jens Nowotny, Sebastian Deisler, Christian Woerns, Joerg Heinrich and Mehmet Scholl, the latter of whom stunned the nation by electing to use this summer to properly recuperate from an injury bedeviled season.
Although Germany are surely not going to present themselves as the infallible 'machine' that struck fear into the hearts of their every opponent in the past, Rudi Voeller still has plenty of top-talent at his disposal. Michael Ballack has blossomed into one of Europe's finest midfielders, Didi Hamann is as good as they come at disrupting the opposition's flow, Miroslav Klose is a world-class striker in the making and of course there is the immovable object between the pipes that is Oliver Kahn. Suffice to say, the three-time World Champs could very well end up being the tournament's darkhorse.
Saudi Arabia are back for their third World Cup in succession, and will be hoping to emulate the unexpected success of their debut appearance, which saw them overcome all odds by qualifying for the second round. Asia's most successful footballing nation are probably best known for the stories that speak of a mansion and Mercedes promised to each of their players that scores a goal in the finals, but make no mistake ?the Saudis can play.
Nasser Al Johar's 'Sons of the Desert' will be hoping to prove that they can compliment their sublime dribbling skills with hard-nosed defending against a German side that will be looking to out-muscle and out-jump them at every occasion. Thus, in order to counteract their opponent's ample aerial threat, Saudi Arabia are expected to lineup in a wing-play-debilitating 4-5-1 formation, proving that they have no intention of succumbing to their tactical naivet?of the past.
Saudi striker Al Hassan Al Yami, who has scored five times in 18 internationals, said in the buildup to Saturday's opener: "Our preparation for the first match has been excellent and we have no fear to face this big team (Germany) because we already played against big teams in our warm-up matches like Brazil, Denmark, Uruguay and Senegal. We got some good results notably beating Uruguay and Senegal 3-2 and I hope we will do the same with Germany because we aim to go through to the second round as we did in the USA in 1994.
LATEST TEAM NEWS
Rudi Voeller can breath a sigh of relief upon learning that his main-man Michael Ballack, as well as Miroslav Klose and Oliver Bierhoff have all managed to shake off their respective injuries in time for the Saudi showdown. The biggest fear for Voeller revolved around the long-standing foot injury of Ballack but the Bayern-bound playmaker insists that he feels fine and that he will play with the aid of painkillers if necessary. There is considerably less cause for optimism surrounding Marko Rehmer, who has been ruled out for Germany's first match due to yet another bout with muscular problems. Borussia Dortmund defensive starlet Christoph Metzelder will take Rehmer's place in the make-shift three-man backline that will also contain Ramelow and Linke. Frings, Hamann and Ziege will form an imposing wall behind the more creative Schneider and Ballack, while Jancker and Klose are expected to operate as the front-two.
As touched upon before, Saudi Arabia are likely to sacrifice a forward in order to form a five-man midfield, meaning that Al Hassan Al-Yami will operate as the lone-striker, while star attacker Al Jaber will be required to generate offence from a deeper position than usual. The Saudi Arabians have no injuries or suspensions to speak of.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Germany (3-5-2): Kahn ?Linke, Ramelow, Metzelder ?Frings, Hamann, Schneider, Ballack, Ziege ?Jancker, Klose.
Saudi (4-5-1): Al Daeyae ?Sulimani, Tukar, Zubromawi, Al Harthi ?Noor, K. Al Dosari, A. Al Dossary, Al Jaber, Al Temyat ?Al Yami.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Michael Ballack: The massively talented 25-year-old will undoubtedly be the man to watch for Germany, as he is very much the creative hub of the side. Formerly considered somewhat of a big-game-bottler, Ballack established himself as the go-to-man during Bayer Leverkusen's treble-chase and it will be fascinating to see whether his shoulders have broadened enough over they year to support the weight of an entire country.
Al Jaber: Saudi Arabia's 30-year-old skipper will be hoping to make it three-for-three on Saturday, by bagging his third goal at his third World Cup. Saudi's all-time leading scorer is a firm-favourite at leading Saudi club Al-Hilal, for whom he has played for 15 years - though he spent time on loan in 2000 with England's Wolverhampton Wanderers before returning home after a sojourn subdued by injuries.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
Germany and Saudi Arabia's only previous encounter was pre-WC 98 friendly international, which the Germans easily won 3-0.
soccerage
Well I easily would NOT bet on this gameLazindo01 said:I need suggestion from expert, you guys!!!
With the Saudi NT.. you NEVER know.. believe me.. we KNOW that
If they are in the mood.. I would expect an upset ala the France defeat today!! If not.. you could expect a mauling!! My advise.. bet on another game After all.. who would have bet that Saudi would beat Belgium 1-0 in USA 94.. but then again.. who would have bet that the Saudis.. after a very good USA94 would perform so badly in France.. believe me.. I could bet on next years Oscars (without knowing the movies) and I'd have a better chance!!
Carson - In the preview you sent.. well that is a 5-4-1 formation!! As A. AlDossari is Ahmed Al Doukhi who's a right back.. while the 4 defenders where a left back and 3 central defenders!!
Lazindo,
I'm not a betting man, but if I was I wouldn't bet on Saudi. Like Yasir said, we're the most unpredictable team on the planet.
But if you were to bet on that game, there are better deals around. An english friend of mine found this bet where you get 2:1 if Saudi wins, draws or loses by a 1 goal margin. That to me sounds like a sound bet if there was one.
I'm not a betting man, but if I was I wouldn't bet on Saudi. Like Yasir said, we're the most unpredictable team on the planet.
But if you were to bet on that game, there are better deals around. An english friend of mine found this bet where you get 2:1 if Saudi wins, draws or loses by a 1 goal margin. That to me sounds like a sound bet if there was one.
Spot on, i totally agree. No disrespect to the Saudi's but this game is too important for Germany to lose, if they dont get the 3 points from this game then they will struggle to get into the next round.Gabemar said:Germany better win this game because in my book they would be underdogs against Cameroon and the Ireland game could go either way.
Having said that, i hope Saudi Arabia win
To my fellow Saudi posters...
What's the deal with the players names???
Is it correct that Saed al-Owairan is listed as Obeid al-Dossari in the Saudi roster?
I thought I heard that on Fox Sports World today.
It's funny because I was in a WC pool where you had to pick at least 1 player from each team. Since al-Jaber was already taken, and I didn't see al-Owairan's name, I chose al-Dossari.
So, are they the same person?
Thanks for your help.
What's the deal with the players names???
Is it correct that Saed al-Owairan is listed as Obeid al-Dossari in the Saudi roster?
I thought I heard that on Fox Sports World today.
It's funny because I was in a WC pool where you had to pick at least 1 player from each team. Since al-Jaber was already taken, and I didn't see al-Owairan's name, I chose al-Dossari.
So, are they the same person?
Thanks for your help.
Saeed Al Owairan and Obeid Al Dossari are two different players. I think you got Saeed Al Owairan mixed up by Khamis Al Owairan (He's listed as Khamis Al owairan Al Dosari in most sites)
So basically Khamis and Obeid are in the Saudi squad, while Saeed Al Owairan isn't
So basically Khamis and Obeid are in the Saudi squad, while Saeed Al Owairan isn't
Starting line-ups for the Germany v Saudi Arabia World Cup Group E match here on Saturday:
Germany: Oliver Kahn (capt), Thomas Linke, Carsten Ramelow, Christian Ziege, Dietmar Hamann, Carsten Jancker, Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack, Bernd Schneider, Christoph Metzelder, Torsten Frings
Saudi Arabia: Mohammed al-Deayea, Redha Tukar, Abdullah Sulaiman Zubromawi, Mohammed Noor, Sami al-Jaber (capt), Ahmed Dukhi al-Dossarry, Hussein Sulimani, Khamis Alowairan al-Dosari, Abdullah Alwaked al-Shahrani, Nawaf al-Temyat, Al Hassan al-Yami
Referee: Ubaldo Aquino (Par)
Germany: Oliver Kahn (capt), Thomas Linke, Carsten Ramelow, Christian Ziege, Dietmar Hamann, Carsten Jancker, Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack, Bernd Schneider, Christoph Metzelder, Torsten Frings
Saudi Arabia: Mohammed al-Deayea, Redha Tukar, Abdullah Sulaiman Zubromawi, Mohammed Noor, Sami al-Jaber (capt), Ahmed Dukhi al-Dossarry, Hussein Sulimani, Khamis Alowairan al-Dosari, Abdullah Alwaked al-Shahrani, Nawaf al-Temyat, Al Hassan al-Yami
Referee: Ubaldo Aquino (Par)
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