Sheva & Co thrash Saudis
Saudi Arabian players are boycotting the man of the match awards at the World Cup because they are sponsored by Budweiser and alcohol is prohibited under sharia law. Maybe that would explain why they were all so bad today - none of them wanted to win the award. Another reason could be the 100,000 riyals that each player had been given following the draw against Tunisia which made them become complacent - initially this amount had only been promised for victory. Brazilian coach Paqueta had a different reason - the rain. He claimed that the Saudis were not used to playing in such conditions due to the absence of rain in the country.
The real reason for the defeat was simply the gap in class between the two teams. The Ukraine dominated from start to finish. Their goals came though Rusol, Rebrov, Sheva and Kalinichenko, although keeper Zaid offered a great deal of help for the first two. The victory puts them back on track and a further win against Tunisia will see them safely through in their first finals tournament. The Saudis have another thrashing from Spain to look forward to…
