Saudi Arabia Draws with Trinidad and Advances to Gold Cup Quarterfinals
The Saudi national team advanced to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup after a 1–1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago in the third and final round of Group D action.
The result was enough for Saudi Arabia, who are competing in the tournament without Al-Hilal players due to their club’s participation in the concurrently held FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. The main objective was to secure at least one point to book a spot in the quarterfinals, having opened their campaign with a 1–0 win over Haiti before narrowly falling to hosts United States 0–1 in the second round.
Trinidad and Tobago took the lead in the 10th minute when striker Dante Sealy struck a brilliant left-footed shot from outside the box into the far right corner of goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi's net.
The tide turned in the second half, which began with Roma right-back Saud Abdulhamid squandering a golden opportunity to equalize. He received a cross from Al-Ittihad defender Abdulelah Al-Amri, controlled it near goal, and fired wide of the right post in the 53rd minute.
Saudi Arabia managed to level the score in the 60th minute when Al-Ahli defender Ali Majrashi sent a long ball toward Al-Ahli striker Firas Al-Buraikan near the edge of the box. Al-Buraikan laid it off stylishly with his heel to Saleh Al-Shehri, who weaved through Alvin Jones and fired powerfully with his right foot. The shot rebounded off the crossbar and fell to Al-Buraikan, who calmly slotted it into the open net with his left foot.
The crossbar denied Abdurrahman Al-Aboud a stunning goal from outside the area in the 72nd minute, and just seconds later, defender Justin Garcia prevented him from scoring again with a last-ditch clearance off a close-range shot.
Abdulhamid also had a goal ruled out for offside in stoppage time (90+4), and Saudi Arabia narrowly escaped defeat when the crossbar stopped Garcia’s powerful shot from inside the area in the sixth minute of injury time.
Under French coach Hervé Renard, the Saudis finished second in Group D with four points. They now face a tough quarterfinal against defending champions Mexico, who topped Group A after a goalless draw with co-leaders Costa Rica.
In the post-match press conference, Renard said: “We achieved the goal we came to the United States for—qualifying. We’re not in perfect form at the technical level, but thankfully we now have six days to rest, and that’s definitely helpful, because playing every three days is very difficult.”
He added: “We must fight in the quarterfinals. Mexico is a strong team and we’ve played them before at the World Cup,” referring to their final group stage match at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Saudi Arabia lost 1–2.
Mexico secured the top spot on goal difference after finishing level with Costa Rica on seven points each.
Costa Rica will now face the United States, who topped Group D with a perfect nine points after beating Haiti 2–1 thanks to goals from PSV Eindhoven midfielder Malik Tillman (10) and Patrick Agyemang (75), while Louicius Dethius scored Haiti’s lone goal (19).
