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Saudi Arabia remains unbeaten

Al Meshal Saeed of Saudi Arabia, center, dribbles the ball during a World Cup qualifying match in Jakarta, Tuesday. Saudi Arabia beat Indonesia 3-1. PHOTO: AP

Two-time champion Uruguay continued to struggle in its quest to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals Tuesday, while Saudi Arabia maintained its unbeaten record in Asia.

Uruguay, which finished its match with 10 men after Gustavo Varela was red-carded for kicking striker Joaquin Botero in the back, held Bolivia to a 0-0 draw. Three days ago, the Uruguayans lost to South American-rival Argentina 4-2.

The draw puts Uruguay, which last won the World Cup in 1950, in sixth place in the 10-team qualifying race with 11 points. Bolivia is in eighth place with 10 points, while Brazil leads with 19.

The top four teams in the group will play in the World Cup finals in Germany, with the fifth-place team facing the Oceania champion for another berth.

Saudi Arabia, which leads Group 8 with a perfect 15 points and has already qualified for the next stage, easily beat Indonesia 3-1. The other seven Asian group winners will join the Saudis in the final qualifying round.

In La Paz, Bolivia, Uruguay opened the match on the offensive as striker Vicente Sanchez hit the post in the second minute.

But Bolivia eventually found its rhythm midway through the first half, settling in with hard-nosed defensive play and looking to counterattack.

The hosts tested Uruguay goalkeeper Sebastian Viera several times in the closing minutes of the half, forcing him to make several close-range saves.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, Al Meshal Saeed, Sulaimani Omar and Alqahtani Saeed scored a goal each for Saudi Arabia, which played in the 2002 World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan but lost all three of its group matches by a combined score of 12-0.

Saeed gave the Saudis an early lead in ninth minute off a shot from the right side of the penalty area that passed through four defenders. Five minutes later, Omar fired home a long shot to give the visitors a two-goal lead at Gelora Bung Karno stadium.

Indonesia was reduced to 10 men late in the first half when midfielder Ismed Sofyan was ejected for a hard foul against Hassan Fallatah, but striker Ilham Jayakusuma still managed to narrow the deficit by firing home a pass from Boaz Sollosa in the 50th.

Saeed headed in another goal in the 75th minute to give Saudi Arabia the victory.
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