Saudi Arabia to face Japan today

Manama : The final for the AFC U-19 Football Championship crown is all set for tonight when Saudi Arabia take on Japan at the National Stadium in Riffa with a 5.30pm kick-off.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has named Qatari referee Khamis Al Marri to run the final, which is being played under the patronage of His Majesty the King representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president, Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The final will also be witnessed by other high-ranking football officials, including Asian Football Confederation president and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports general secretary Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Bahrain Football Association president Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and representatives from the football of Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia looking for a third title wrapped up their preparations under national tactician Saad Al Shehri for today’s title decider.

“We have played against many difficult teams and against teams who have had great defences, but we have scored against them. We must remember that Saudi Arabia has the best attacking line-up in the whole tournament,” said Al Shehri at a pre-match press conference yesterday.

“Japan have strong defensive tactics, which will make the match a bit difficult. But we have many great players, midfielders.”