FRANCE 98 – Match preview n°5

If Saudi Arabia are to pull off another World Cup shock with victory over Denmark in their opening Group C game here on Friday, it will probably need another heroic display from the man they call the Maradona of the Desert.

Attacking midfielder Saeed Al-Owairan, back in favour after four years in the wilderness, is the man who can make all the difference in a match which on paper looks evenly poised. Understandably, Saudi Arabia’s Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira intends to keep faith with the side which held England to a shock 0-0 draw at Wembley last month, despite the 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Norway four days later. And that leaves the way clear for Al-Owairan to grace another World Cup stage, having scored what was arguably the goal of the tournament in 1994 in the victory over Belgium.

Parreira, the coach who guided Brazil to victory in 1994, is a shrewd tactician and a man who knows talent when he sees it and Al-Owairan”s skills are a vital factor in the Saudis’ game plan. But he might not even have been in the squad, but for a change of heart by the football authorities in the Gulf state. His memorable goal against Belgium was a major factor in him winning the title of Asian Footballer of the Year and he had the world at his feet.

A lucrative move to Europe seemed a foregone conclusion until he fell foul of strict Islamic law by attending an illegal drinks party and was banned for 18 months. He missed the Saudis’ Asian Cup triumph and the World Cup qualifiers but he resurrected his career with several good displays in this year’s Confederations Cup and earned his place on the plane to France on merit.

Another telling presence will be that of in-form striker Sami Al-Jaber-but the Saudi attack will face the toughest of tests, for in goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, Denmark have a man who is probably the best last line of defence in the world at the moment.

But coach Bo Johansson is playing his cards very close to his chest and is refusing to name a team until the last minute. Now that most of the big names from the glory years of the late 1980s and early 1990s have retired, the Danes are in the process of rebuilding around the experienced backbone of the surprise 1992 European Championship-winning side, the Laudrup brothers, Michael and Brian.

But both sides know that defeat here would almost certainly spell early eliminiation as both have the daunting task of facing France and South Africa in their remaining games.