Saudi Arabia must miss defender after fierce clash

Saudi Arabia must miss defender after fierce clash

shutterstock 633881816Saudi Arabia provided the biggest stunt at the World Cup so far on Tuesday when it beat Argentina in sensational fashion. In injury time of the game, defender Yasser Al-Shahrani went to the ground unconscious after colliding with his own goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Owais. It was confirmed on Wednesday that the World Cup had come to an end for Al-Shahrani.

The defender left the pitch on a stretcher after the collision. Immediately there were fears of a serious injury. Those fears were justified, it turns out a day later. The 30-year-old defender fractured both his jaw and cheekbone in the incident. There was also internal bleeding, to which he has since undergone successful surgery.

Saudi Arabia has confirmed that Al-Shahrani will be out of action at the World Cup due to the consequences of the collision. The defender himself has also since conveyed a message to his compatriots via Twitter (see below). Saudi media write that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered that the hapless defender be transferred by private plane to Germany, where he could continue working on his recovery.

For the Saudis, the World Cup is already more than successful. Against the Argentines, it recorded only its fourth World Cup victory, while already participating in the global finals for the sixth time. Only in 1994 did it manage to get through the pool phase by winning against Morocco and Belgium in the group that included the Netherlands. Sweden was then too strong in the eighth final. To properly celebrate the win over Argentina, Wednesday was declared a bank holiday.