Al-Amri header seals Saudi Arabia’s first win over South Korea in 21 years

Abdulelah Al-Amri scored with a header as Saudi Arabia defeated South Korea 3-2 in a friendly at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Friday.

The Al-Nassr and Saudi Arabia defender completed the scoring in the 59th minute, meeting a corner delivered by Al-Hilal midfielder Nasser Al-Dawsari and directing it into the net.

The goal took Al-Amri’s career total to 20 for club and country, according to Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadiyah. He has scored 16 times for Al-Nassr, once for Al-Wehda and three times for Saudi Arabia.

His international goals have come against Kuwait in 2021, Uruguay at the 2026 World Cup and South Korea in Friday’s match.

It was also Al-Amri’s fourth goal since the start of the current season, with all four coming from headers. Three have been scored for Al-Nassr and one for the national team.

The victory was Saudi Arabia’s first against South Korea since 2005, when they won both of their World Cup 2006 qualifying matches, 2-0 and 1-0.

Before Friday’s meeting, the sides had played six times since that double victory. South Korea had won two of those matches, while the other four ended in draws.

The latest fixture was the 19th between the two countries at friendly and competitive level since their first encounter in 1980. Saudi Arabia now have six wins, the same number as South Korea, while seven matches have ended level.

Friday’s game was the seventh friendly between the teams. South Korea had won two of the previous six and three had been drawn, leaving Saudi Arabia with two victories in the series.

Saudi Arabia’s most notable win over South Korea came in the semi-final of the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, when Talal Al-Meshal scored both goals in a 2-1 victory.

Their most recent competitive meeting was in the last 16 of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, before South Korea progressed to the quarter-finals by winning the penalty shootout.

Friday’s match was Saudi Arabia’s first friendly of the current international break as they prepare for upcoming competitions. They will play Uzbekistan in Doha on Tuesday in their next fixture.