Same Old, Same Old for Saudis

New coach. Same result.

Saudi Arabia continued with its poor recent form with a 1-1 draw at home against Sweden in Marcos Paqueta’s debut as coach. A goal by Mohammed Haidar in the 70th minute tied the game against a Swedish side that was made up largely of domestic-based players still trying to work their way into shape.

The Saudis controlled the second half of the game but can’t be pleased with this result. Paqueta took over for Gabriel Calderon last month after the country’s football federation sacked him for a poor string of performances.

Saudi Arabia plays again on Saturday against Finland and without a better result, Paqueta might already be feeling the heat. There is little patience for mediocrity within the Kingdom.