Finds its luster and wins the third Asian title

The third episode of the achievements of the Saudi team on the continent

The UAE bodes well for the Saudi team, as they were the crowning crowns of the third and final continental championship in the championship, which has long been a green source of genius, excellence and motivation for the creativity of its players on the green rectangle. Testimony of the birth of many stars who have written in gold letters the history of green in international forums.

In this 1996 edition, Green sought to restore his continental glory by adding the third star.

In this report, we will highlight Saudi Arabia's victory in the Asian Cup at the 1996 edition for the third time in its history in the United Arab Emirates.

The third history of the continental title
Saudi Arabia entered the finals in 1996, an outstanding candidate for the third title for their final appearance in the last three editions, where they managed to crown the title with two, in addition to the impressive performance and outstanding results provided by green falconers at the 1994 World Cup, in the round of 32 for the first time in its history.

Green Tour at the championship
The 11th edition of the AFC Asian Cup 1996 was held in the United Arab Emirates from December 4 to 21, a qualitative leap in the history of the tournament since its inception: the number of teams The draw drew the Saudi team to the top of the second group alongside Iraq, Iran and Thailand, while the first group included the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, South Korea, Indonesia and the third Kafd group consisted of Japan, Syria, China and Uzbekistan.

The Saudi team reached the first round of their group as they played the championship with some young players and some experience: he started his career with a big victory over Thailand and scored six goals, followed by a dull victory over his unanswered Iraqi counterpart. In the third game, the Iranian team, who suffered a heavy defeat in green, was content with three free goals, despite the brutal defeat, but the group's top remained in the hands of the difference of green goals of Iran and Iraq.

This cruel and unexpected defeat allowed players to get up early in the tournament, which led them to consider the quarterfinal match against China as an irreplaceable cup match if they wanted to return to the podium. The Greens managed to turn their defeats into a four-to-three victory in the end, with Youssef Al-Thunayan (two goals), Sami Al-Jaber and Fahd Al-Mahal.

This victory was an important step towards the restoration of the title. She had to face Iran in the semifinal, which was won in the first round by three draws, to be a confrontation as a revenge between the two teams. The match ended in a draw, both in initial time and in overtime, to qualify for the final in the final scene with the host country, which allowed its Kuwaiti counterpart to win a goal without a reply.

The finals were full of excitement, strength and difficulty, especially of Al-Akhdar, who played on the pitch of his opponent and against his supporters, as well as the expulsion of his team. defender Hussein Abdul Ghani.

Despite these circumstances, the Saudi team stood firm and could have settled the game at the time of the game. However, the opportunities were not exploited properly for the decision message to remain tied to the penalty shoot-out. which the green card was awarded to him after winning the result (4-2) The podium for the third time in its history.

Achievers
Mohammad Al-Khaleej, Hussain Abdul-Ghani, Khaled Al-Rasheed, Khalid Mas & Ad, Khalid Al-Tamawi, Fuad Anwar, Yousef Al-Thounayan, Sami Al-Jaber, Fahad Al-Muhallal, Hamza Idris, Khamis Al -Uyairan, Ibrahim Mater, Abdullah Al-Qarni, Khamis Al-Zahrani, Abdullah Al-Jamaan, Abdullah Sulaiman, coach: Portuguese Vingada, assistant coach Mohammed Al-Kharashi.