The grand King Fahd International Stadium was built for nights like this. The 70,000 seater arena, with its white, tented peaks, is one of the greatest, most aesthetically pleasing crucibles in world football. But rarely does this gleaming temple to the beautiful game get the treatment it deserves.
One Saudi Arabia World Cup qualifier earlier in the campaign, against Singapore, appeared to be populated largely by away fans. All 50 of them. But if full, as when Riyadh rivals Al Hilal and Al Nasr play in their ferocious city derby, it can match Barcelona's Camp Nou for its wall of incessant noise, or the Stadio Olympico in Rome for its weight of menace. And matches do not get much more important than a delicately poised second leg World Cup playoff against local rivals Bahrain. As Riyadh-based football blogger Abdel Rahman Hamed told me: "The atmosphere for matches like this is always electric."
Great news for the Saudis and the neutral observer, not so good news for Bahraini coach Milan Macala. As the dust settles on the mesmerising but goalless first leg in Manama on Saturday night, you feel that the enormity of Bahrain's failure has slowly begun to dawn on the Czech tactician. "We wasted a lot of chances and we were not fortunate," he said glumly after the game. "This result will put a lot of pressure on the players in the next game."
Quite simply, Bahrain should be three goals up and home and dry. The sting would have been taken out of the tie and the King Fahd Stadium would remain as empty as a midweek friendly against a footballing minnow. Instead the Bahrainis may well have sown the seeds of their downfall: the noise will be deafening as arguably the region's noisiest fans pour opprobrium on their brothers from over the causeway.
All Macala can hope for from his players is more of the same. He has intimated that he will keep the same side that played so well in Manama, but the performance of striker Jaycee John, whose powerful late cameo almost gave Bahrain the victory they deserved, should see him start in Riyadh if his country have any hope of making it through to the final intercontinental play-off against a poor New Zealand side next month.
The Saudis are struggling in front of goal without Naif Hazazi, who picked up a serious knee ligament injury before the game. That has heaped even more pressure on Yasser Al Qahtani, who showed flashes of brilliance in the opening exchanges but soon faded without support. Yet a heaving King Fahd Stadium can provide the extra player the Saudis so desperately need. The last time the footballing world's attention was focused on Riyadh, it was for the arrival of Manchester United in last year's testimonial for Sami al Jabar.
Al Hilal won 3-2 in front of a rabid crowd with Al Qahtani playing out of his skin. He even drew the admiration of Sir Alex Ferguson. "Qahtani looked a terrific footballer," he said. The Saudis will be looking to him to provide the goals. But it could well be the partisan crowd that really keeps Saudi Arabia's World Cup dream alive. sports@thenational.ae Saudi Arabia v Bahrain, KO 11.15pm, Abu Dhabi Sports 1
