Saudi Arabia

Nickname:
Founded:
Manager:

Ground:
Capacity:NaN

Competing in:

Paqueta upbeat despite loss

27 May 2006 - 10:18:32

Saudi Arabia lost 2-0 to the Czech Republic in their latest World Cup warm-up outing.

Their fellow finalists won thanks to an early strike by Milan Baros and a last-minute Marek Jankulovski spot-kick.

The Saudis' last two games ended in a 1-0 win over Togo and a 2-1 loss to Belgium and coach Marcos Paqueta feels his squad are improving, despite another reverse.

He said: "Our players were strong and played better than the last two games.

"We're on the right track. Our players need more experience, games against strong and experienced players like (Pavel) Nedved or Baros.

"That's very important for us."

Saudi Arabia will face Ukraine, Spain and Tunisia in Group H in Germany, having qualified for a fourth successive finals.