The young Green Falcons saw their qualification hopes suffer a blow after falling to a 2-0 defeat against China PR, leaving them to go into the final match against Group D leaders Japan with just three points to their name.
The defending champions will be in need of a victory at Lokomotiv Stadium, coupled with China PR failing to overcome Kyrgyz Republic on the other simultaneous kick-off at JAR Stadium if they are to advance to the next round.
“We will focus on the next match. We have to play the way Saudi Arabia should, and hopefully we can go through to the next round,” said Al Mohammedi.
“The last game against Japan will be decisive. We must focus on recovery first then prepare physically, mentally and tactically. This is the match that decides our fate, so we have to be mentally present and on top form because it’s all or nothing.”
“We have so many injuries, mostly in defence and midfield. We are still able to find solutions to score.
“Japan are not a team that defend deep like China or Kyrgyz Republic, so we believe we will find spaces behind their defence, and hopefully our forwards will be able to take their chances, unlike against China.”
And while qualification to the quarter-finals has not yet been confirmed for Japan, the Samurai Blue are in a more comfortable situation, having won both of their opening matches, but there will be no room for complacency as demonstrated by Vietnam’s exit from Group B despite winning the first two games.
Following a concerning start to the campaign when they conceded a goal inside six minutes of the opening match against China PR, Japan have since been very much perfect, turning the tie around to win 2-1 thanks to a brace from Naoki Kumata who found the net again in a 3-0 victory against Kyrgyz Republic that further boosted the chances of coach Koichi Togashi’s men.
“We know that Saudi are a strong team,” said Togashi, confirming things have so far gone as planned for the Samurai Blue.
“For a long time we have known that this would be the third match and we expected that we should win the two matches before playing against Saudi. Our team is getting better match-by-match and in the next match there may be new talented players coming through. We expect something new to come through.”
Saudi Arabia v Japan
Venue: Lokomotiv Stadium (Tashkent)
Kick-off: 20:00 (Malaysia Time GMT +8)
HOT MATCH TONIGHT (Malaysia Time GMT +8)
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• AFC Championship U20
09/03 20:00 | Saudi Arabia U20 – Japan U20
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