A draw on Saudi soil would have been a good result for the young Iranian side and the first half ended 0-0 with both sides pretty even, but the Saudis started to attack more in the second half making three substitutions in a clear attempt to win their home tie against Iran.  The match seemed to be heading for a share of the points though as a well organised Iranian defence held firm until the dying moments when the Saudis scored a late goal with only 2 minutes left on the clock, a hurtful experience for Iran’s Omid side but one that they will hopefully put down to experience and learn from.  In the other match of Group D Australia and Jordan drew 1-1.

So where does this leave Iran after two matches with the top two sides in the group progressing to next round qualifiers; the Saudis lead the table on 6 points now, Australia on 2 points are in second place, Iran and Jordan on 1 point lie at the bottom of the table.  With four games left Saudi Arabia seem to be already beyond the reach of the other three teams.  Iran will play bottom of the table Jordan in their next match, a win at home is a must for Iran or they will have no chance of qualifying for Beijing 2008 Olympics.  Ironically it would be in Iran’s interest should group leaders Saudi Arabia beat Australia on the same day, this would mean Iran would jump to second place in Group D and two points clear of Australia with three matches left.