March 28 Friendly: Saudi Arabia v Poland

March 28th, 2006 | by: WC Bob | View Comments

A pair of World Cup teams square off today in a match being played in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia is perhaps the friendliest team in the World Cup this year with anywhere between six and nine games (depending on your source) lined up between now and the start of the tournament. For Poland, the game is an opportunity for coach Pawel Janas to get a look at some of his younger players and guys who are fighting for remaining roster spots. Fans of the LiveBlog, sorry, we won’t be covering this one, but we do have a bit of a match preview and, as always, check in with our team blogs for the post match hubbub.

Game Details
King Fahd International Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
18:30 GMT

FIFA World Ranking
Poland 26
Saudi Arabia 34

Where to watch on the Internet
Probably nowhere, but you might want to check here to see if a listing is added at the last minute. If you know of a place to watch it, please leave a comment.

Three things you should know about Poland
Janas is Genuis: Perhaps he is not as widely recognized as some of his peers in the World Cup, but coach Pawel Janas does have an impressive track record. In addition to playing every minute of the 1982 World Cup finals in which Poland finished 3rd, Janas led Poland to the Olympic finals in 1992. He has done a nice job with the Poland team since taking over the helm in 2002.

Seeing double: Left fullback Michał Żewłakow is excellent on free kicks. At one time his twin brother, Marcin, played for Poland. We have no proof that they used to switch jersey numbers to confuse their opponents and referees, but you know how tricky twins can be.

The Magic Man: Maciej Żurawski is called “Magic” by friends and foes alike. The Celtic forward lived up to his moniker during the 2002 World Cup when he pulled a disappearing act in Poland’s first round exit.

Three things you should know about Saudi Arabia
You don’t know these guys: Only two Saudi players in the history of the Kingdom, Sami Al Jaber (Wolves) and Fahd Al Ghashayan’s (AZ Alkmaar), have ever played in Europe. Keep an eye on the captain Al Jaber. He has been known to score some wicked goals.

The Old Man and the Goal: Mohammed al-Deayea has played in goal the past three World Cups for Saudi Arabia and is the most capped player in history. Despite these credentials, it was Mabrouk Zayed who helped lead Saudi Arabia to the World Cup. An injury to Zayed has brought al-Daeyea back into the picture for Germany this summer.

Bad Investments: Before you predict how Saudi Arabia will do in the World Cup you might want to check out how the country’s stock market is performing. Apparently the players are heavily invested in the market. A sudden crash could spell doom.

Our Prediction
1-1 draw

Your predictions?