Saudi Arabia beat nine-man Kyrgyzstan to reach Asian Cup last 16
Saudi Arabia beat Kyrgyzstan in Doha to book their place in the last 16 of the Asian Cup
Doha – Roberto Mancini’s Saudi Arabia reached the Asian Cup knockout rounds on Sunday with a laboured 2-0 win over a Kyrgyzstan side who played almost half the game with nine men.
Ayzar Akmatov was sent off in the ninth minute for a studs-up challenge before Mohamed Kanno opened the scoring for the three-time champion Saudis in the 35th minute in Doha.
Kyrgyzstan’s Kimi Merk also saw red for another bad tackle seven minutes into the second half.
But Saudi Arabia — ranked 56 in the world to Kyrgyzstan’s 98 — managed only one more late goal from Faisal Al-Ghamdi in a toothless attacking performance.
The win gave the Saudis, who came back to claim a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Oman in their opening game, six points from two matches.
They lead Group F two points ahead of Thailand, who drew 0-0 with Oman earlier in the day.
Saudi Arabia joined hosts and holders Qatar, Australia, Iran and Iraq in booking their places in the last 16.
Akmatov was initially only yellow-carded for driving his studs into Sami Al-Naji’s shin, but the referee flashed the red after a VAR check.
The Saudis could not immediately turn the numerical advantage into goals, with Feras Al-Brikan missing two golden chances to give the them the lead.
The frustration looked set to continue when Abdulelah Al-Malki hit the post, but Saud Abdulhamid collected the rebound and crossed the ball back into the box for Kanno to volley home.
Already facing an uphill struggle, Kyrgyzstan were reduced to nine men in the 52nd minute after another VAR red-card check.
Merk’s hefty challenge on Hassan Tambakti was judged to be a sending-off offence.
But the Saudis again failed to capitalise, with Kanno shooting harmlessly over the bar in the 68th minute before Saleh Al-Shehri glanced a header wide 10 minutes later.
Substitute Ghamdi finally added a second goal in the 84th minute, letting fly with a shot from the edge of the box that Kyrgyzstan goalkeeper Erzhan Tokotaev fumbled into the goal.