RIYADH -- Saudi Arabia thumped Bangladesh
6-0 on Saturday to go through to the second round of Asia's
World Cup qualifying tournament.
A hat-trick by Talal Al Meshal, two goals by Obeid Al
Dossary and one from Mohsein Al Harthi gave the twice World Cup
finalists the second place in the 10-team second phase which
kicks off in August.
The win took Saudi Arabia five points clear at the top of
group 10 with one match to go -- a result that saw them join
Iran in the next phase.
Saudi's interim coach Nasr Al Johar was pleased to have
guided his side to the second round before stepping down to
allow Yugoslav coach Slobodan Santrac to take command.
"We are going to start working for the next round in a
different manner and with a different mentality," said Al Johar
whose side have yet to drop a point or concede a goal in the
competition.
Earlier, Vietnam had climbed to within two points of the
Saudis with a 4-0 win over Mongolia. Nguyen Luong Pac and Nguyen
Hong Son each scored twice.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights
reserved. Republication or
redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or
delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.