Saudi Arabia’s Ali Al-Hassan drives the ball past Mexico’s Edson Alvarez during the World Cup group C soccer match at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on November 30.
| Photo Credit: AP
Mexico beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in World Cup Group C on Wednesday but fell agonisingly short of reaching the last 16 on goal difference.
Quickfire second-half strikes from Henry Martin and Luis Chavez had put Mexico on course to reach the knockout stages and Uriel Antuna also put the ball in the net but the effort was disallowed for offside.
Saudi Arabia pulled a goal back in stoppage time through Salem Al-Dawsari.
Mexico finished with four points, level with Poland who lost 2-0 to group winners Argentina and had a superior goal difference of one to advance.
That ended Mexico’s run of seven straight last-16 qualifications stretching back to 1994.
Saudi Arabia were eliminated after finishing bottom of the standings on three points.
Teams
Saudi Arabia: Mohamed Al-Owais, Sultan Al-Ghanam, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Ali Al-Bulaihi, Hassan Tambakti, Mohamed Kanno, Saud Abdulhamid, Ali Al-Hassan, Saleh Al-Shehri, Salem Al-Dawsari, Firas Al-Buraikan
Mexico: Guillermo Ochoa, Cesar Montes, Edson Alvarez, Alexis Vega, Hector Moreno, Orbelin Pineda, Jorge Sanchez, Henry Martin, Hirving Lozano, Jesus Gallardo, Luis Chavez
