SAPPORO, June 1: Saudi Arabia coach Nasser Al-Johar admitted he was left helpless by his team’s collapse in Saturday’s 8-0 thrashing by Germany in the Sapporo Dome — and said the result signalled a “sad night for everyone in our country”.

As his players filed silently out of the futuristic roofed stadium and into the night, with barely a word to anyone, the 56-year-old coach had the haunted look of a man facing an unwanted inquisition by the world’s media.

“I tried to do something to change things in the second half, but it was impossible and too late,” he explained. “We had too many players who were playing badly. It was not an easy match for anyone in our team. I am deeply disappointed.”

“But we collapsed in the second half and that is not something to repair easily. At least we have two more games and I promise all our fans in Saudi Arabia that everyone will try to do much better next time.”

Despite his determination and optimism, it was clear that this Saudi side face another early exit from their third successive finals after qualifying for the first time for the United States tournament in 1994 when they reached the second round.

The shell-shocked coach made his apologies as quickly as possible and departed after his players.—Reuters